


1^ 



§ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. { 

I Chap.iA^±:. 

p UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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■f y 



Compliments of 

SIDNEY D. MAXWELL, 

Superintendent. 




edi^atory raxergse5 



AT THE OPENING OF THl 



NEW BUILDING 



(^JQeiQQati (^f^amber of (^o/T\/r\ere^ 



mei^cHanTS' exchange 



JfiNUI.RY 23 and 3D. IBBB 





COMMERCIAL CnZETTE 

JOB ROOMS, 

CINCINNffTI, OHIO. 



CONTENTS. 



Officers of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, i 
Boards of Real Estate Managers, ... 3 

Clerical Force, 5 

Committees on Dedication, 7 

Delegates from Commercial Bodies, . . . .11 
Programme of Promenade Concert, ... 14 
Programme of Dedicatory Exercises, . . .15 

The Builders, 16 

Introduction, . , 17 

The Promenade Concert, 26 

The Dedication, 30 

The Prayer, 33 

Delivery and Reception of the Keys, . . . 42 

The Dedicatory Hymn, 56 

The Oration, 59 

Welcome by the Mayor, 97 

Congratulations: 

New York, 102 

The City of the Lake, 104 

The Southwest, .... ... 109 

The MississipiM Valley, 114 

The Central South, 120 

The Old Dominion, 124 



contents. 

Letters of Regret, . . . 128 

The Excursion, 184 

The BANquET: 

Toast-master's Greeting 186 

I. The Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, 188 

II. The Northwest, 190 

III. The South, 195 

IV. The West, 207 

V. New York, 209 

VI. Chicago, 210 

VII. Baltimore, 214 

VIII. St. Louis 220 



FDR laaa-ag. 

president : 
Thomas Morrison. 

FIRST vice-president: second vice-president: 

LowF. ?3MERSf)N. Richard Dymond. 

DIRECTORS: 

For One Year. For Two Years. 

josF.iMi R. Brown, J. Walter FREiiiERG, 

(i. V. Stevenson, A. II. McLeod, 

Sam. W. Weidler, William McC allister, 

Paris C. Brown, John F. IIazen, 

Charles R. Brent. John N. Wooliscroft. 

treasurer: secretary: •* 

William L. Hunt. Paul M. Millikin. 

Sidney D. Maxwell. 

^oax*t» of Jlcrtl dBfttatc l^anat^evo: 

Thomas Morrison, Chairman. 
John Kyle, John Carlisle, 

Henry C. Urner, James M. Glenn. 



ENGAGED IN THE ERECTION OF THE BUILDING. 

1 >; .X 3 - .x 4 . 
W. \V. I'KAiiODV. I'l-.suieiit. 
llENKV C. Urnek. a. Hickenloopek, 

John Carlisle. Seth C. Foster. 

18 8 4-85. 
\V. W. I'KAiiOi.v, President. 
John Kyle. John C.\ki isle, 

Henky C". l^RNEK, A. Hickenloopek. 

1 885 -SO. 
Edwin Stevens. President. 
Ja.mes M. Glenn, Henry C. Urner, 

John Kyle, John Carlisle. 

18S6-8T. 
A. Hickenloopek. President. 
John Carlisle, John Kyle, 



James M. Glenn, 



Henuy C. Uknek. 



1887-88. 
Levi C. Goodale, President. 
Henry C. Urner. James M. Glenn. 

John Carlisle, John Kyle. 

1 8 8 8-8 H . 
Tll(>MA^ MoKKlNON. President. 
John Kyli:, John Carlisle. 

Henry C. Urnek. Ja.mes M. Glenn. 



(•■?) 



Qllcvxcal govce 



ClXCINtNATI ChA^MBER OF^ COMN'IERCE. 



John R. Morton, 

C/itef Clerk. 

George S. Bradbury, 

Asaistanl Clerk and Clerk of the Board 
of Real Estate Managers. 

KOUERT J. It. AKCIIIAIiLE, 

Doorkeeper. 

William E. Bkadiuky, 

.Statistical Bookkeeper. 

Charles W. Talhott, 

Statistical Bookkeeper, etc. 

E. S. Fkazer, 

River Reporter. 

GUSTAV G. WiSSER, 

Recorder of Cotton Statistics, etc. 

ALHIiRT G. BarKINGTON. 

Reporter of Prices Current, etc. 

Miss Maguie A. Daly, 

Phonographic Reporter. 

James H. Ashman, 

Railroad Reporter. 

J. V. Eversman, 

Stock -yard Reporter. 

IlAKKV E. Fkazer, 

.\farket Report Recorder. 

( •■. ) 



(Contntittccs oxx ^cbxcatxon 



FRBLIMINflP.Y CDMIVLITTEE, 

Thomas Mokkiso.n. <.'/i<iiriiiiin. 
Lowe K.mekscj.n. IIi-nrv C. Uknf.k. John Kylk. 

Hkhari. nvMoMi. JmiN Cak[.isi,k. Jamis M.Glenn. 

EXECUTIVE CDMMTTTEE, 

CiiAKLKS II. Fi.At 11. Clunrm,ni. 

S.F.Dana, I.. 1 1. IJkooks. I.i i her Parkek, 

Kari. W. Stimson, \Vm. iriNRV Davis. Thomas Morrison. 

L. C. AVeir, a. T. Gosiiorn, T.owe I'"-merson. 

M. E. Ingalls. Chas Ki.ktsciimann, Richard Dv.mond. 

Richard Smith, C. M. IIoli.owav. Hrent Arnold, 

Henry C. I'rner. IJ. A. Dvkins. Sidney I). AFaxwkll. 

FINANCE COMMITTEE, 

S. K. Dana, Clianm,,,,. 
Robert \V. Wlse, V,. \'. Si evenson, (Ia/zam (Jano, 

Richard Folsom. .\le.\. .McDonald. Wm. McCallister. 

COMMITTEE DN INVITATION, 

\\\i. IIiNRV Davis. fV/,/, /•/«„//. 
John Km. K. John F. Ha/.en. Josm'h Ua«son,Ji(. 

John A.Gano. S. I.estkr Tavlok. (;ardnir !•:. I'hiits. 

I. EON \-AN l.oo. 



COMMITTEE DN EEEICATQRY EXERCISES, 

liiciiARD Smith, Chaiinuui. 
TiiEODOKii Cook, C. \V. Rowland, A. IIickeni.ooi'ek, 

Wm. N. Hohart, II. Wilson Browt.-, Robert Allison. 

Joii.N W. IIartwell, 



COMMITTEE ON PROMENADE CONCERT, 

M. E. Ingalls, Cliairman. 
Drent Arnold, I.arz Anderson, V. II. IIaktman.n, 

A. II. iNIcLeod, II. P. BOYDEN, Charles P. Tait. 



FLOOR COMMITTEE, 

A. T. (JosiiOKN, Chairman. 
Carl A. C Adae, Ciias. II. Kello(;g,Jr. I'anill C. IIkmingray, 

Davis C. Anderson, Charles II. Law, George W. Ward, 

Charles W. Baker, J.vmes McDonald, Maxvv'ell Kennedy, 

Ch.\rles W. Bell, Samuel McKeeiian, John S. Woods, 

D. W. Blymyer, Leopold Maukbreit, Clifeord P.. Wright, 

G. ir. lU'KRows, Griffin T. Miller, Perin Langddn, 

IIenrv C. ICzekiel, Albert H. MrrcHEi.L, Charles Me.nueniiall, 
IIoLDEN Davis, George Fisher, Geo. .\. \'andi.grii-t, 

James S. Espy, Edwin Morton, A. Howard Hinkle, 

Benjamin F. Evans, Henry J. Page, C. II. IUi.bkrt, • 

II. S. Feuiheimer, Jki'htha L. Workim. Frank IUntington, 
Ja.mes L. 1'"oley, Lewls Skasoxgood, Im<ank J. Jones, 

(Jeorge W. McAli'in, John C. Sherlock, Albert D. Fishick, 

James V. Guthrie, Daniel Stoni;, George S. Bradbury. 

William A. Hall, 
(f<) 



CUMMITTEh, i.\v< LViu,. .1], 

1,. II. Brooks, C ha i >■ nni u . 
William L. Hunt, Gkokcic !>. Kkhi-kk, John Cioirrz, Ji 
Edwin Stevens, C. M. \'an Ci-eei. A. C. Horton. 

JoSI.IMI K. P.KOWN, 



COMMITTEE DN PRDCESSIDN. 

C. M. IIoLLOWAV, Grand Mars//a/. 
H. W. Wasson, Akchek Dkown, \\'ii.i.iam J:. Miller, 

W. 11. DOANE, U. X. RvAN, Petek R. r.UDlJ, 

Paul M. Millikix. N\'. W. Smith, James D. Pakkek, 

Michael Ryan, Sam. W. Wi-.iDLi.it, John Hatck. 



COMMITTEE DN EECDRATinNS, 

Chaules I'l.ElscilMANN', C liai r>na II . 
CHAKi.ES II. Davis, K. O. Kshelhy, T. K. Mr.\A>L\i< 

J. AVaLTER l'"REIliER('., SaMIEL BaII.E^, Jr. J. X. WOOLISCKI 

Jri.ius IlALKE. Jr. 

COMMITTEE DN PRINTINO, 

;-:aki, W. SriMsoN, C/niirwaii. 
William Mc.Vli'IN, John .\. Townllv. 1> \kis f. Ukou n 

K. C. (iosHORN. Charles V,. Mlurav. (.uarlls K. T.ri 

Iames K. Morrison-, 



COMMITTEE ON HANgUET, . 

I.. C. Weir, Chairman. 
Henry C. Urner. It. II. (;ali-.reatii. IIarlev T. I']<< 

Stewari" Shillito, Herman (Joeiter, .\. <;. Clark, 

W. A. CoODMAN, J. O. SciIMlDLAlM', WALTER J. Mm 



: i _t I . t r 1 L U [ ; . . U LVi M [ L 'TE E, 





Thomas Mokkison. 67a, 


firi)i,iii. 


Low... Kmi..ks,,n. 


Thomas T. Gail. 


A. J. Mlllanl. 


Kl< IL\KI. DV.MOM.. 


!-.. 11. .VrsTEKi.ri/. 


WaKKEN ItAWSON. 


jAMKs M. Glkn-n. 


Koio.KT !!. Jones. 


John r. Gale. 


JnllV tAKLISLK. 


A. 11. IloN^HKLL, 


(M-.OKfil-; KL-.STI.S. 


It.iKLK-r A. Dykins 


IIakkv !.. I.Au-.. 


W. l". Thoknl. 


LlTin.R I'AUKKK. 


K. M. liisiior. 


lAML^ \. (;aMI1LE. 


I.KVI C. (ioOI.ALK. 


C IIAKLLS IIOFKK, 


11. 11. Mlvlk, 


C. f. Waite. 


F. .\. Laii.i lv. 


James K. .Moonev. 


J. N. K.NNKV. 


\V. \V. Johnson. 


William Shaekek. 


Adollii WoOi,, 


I'.liW. I,. 11 tINsllKIMl' 


.K. El.WAK,. i;. MOOKE. 


Mai I rii'W Aud\ . 


William 11. Davis. 


Sol. 1'. KiXEoN, 


Set[i L\ Im)STEk, 


I-HANK .\ ItENO. 


K. V. C in.Kio. 


NiCTKJLAS CUKTIS, 


AkTHLK I.. KOGC. 


J. M. KlKILEV. 


L. p.. IIAKKISON, 


T. W. ZiMMEK.MAN. 


1.. O. Maddi X. 


A. D. r.lLLOCK, 


J. M. Johnston, 


WaLILK 11. I-IELb. 


K. II. I'ENDLKTON, 


John K. 1!ell. 


William 11. Gili-in. 


AnE Mevek. 


Kkank .\lter. 


J. J. McDowell, 


A. 11. I'AI-E, 


J. F. r,LACKl!LKN. 


lloKACE R. Dlnbak. 


I'. A. Wkight. 


llENKV .MlHI.HAI SEl 


(. D. C. .SlIEAKS, 


Be.njamix 11. Cox. 


W. 11. T.IKAI.I.. 


J. J. IIOOKEK, 


J. M. W. Nekf, 


M. M. White. 


JAMES n. Wilson. 


\V. .\isriN GooDM.i 


,N. W. J. I.iriMNCOI ,, 


CiiKis Kinsinoek, 


S. 1". Covington, 


jA(OU nUKNET, JU. 


I'". G. riLLIUGE, 


\V. I'. Andehson, 


M. llALSTEAI). 


William (i. Mokkis, 


U. S. Cunningham. 


Geokoe IIakek. 


t IIAKLLS 11. BlSHOf. 


JoirN Gki liii. 


M. S. FOKULS, 


Thomas A. Wrenn, 


Adam Gkav, 


Kdvvakd N. Roth. 


jLLii s I-Keuif-kc;. 


Gen. J. 11. 1!at..,>. 


(;,<OVL J. I'LNNKV, 


N. A. JELLKAS. 


L. I.. Saollk. 


I>A\ III GlIlSON. 


1! iKANk Davis. 


I'l TI-.K KlDOLLII Nl 


LL. K. S. IJatls, 


llENKV llAAlKE. 


JAMLS KnLV, 


A. i;. r.lUKHAKIH, 


rmi). SiANWooi). 


JVLIIS l)l-..\Ttl<, 


(;eoi«-,e \. Stonl, 


II. 1! MOKEHEAI.. 


W. W. Tavlok, 


Al.UEKI I.OIM.K. • 


Mil ION A. .MiRae. 


j. A. SCAKLEI T. 


loiiN Dlnhoi.tlk. 


Uai.ih Pl ieks. 


J.Ei- K. Keck, 


Chalman Johnson, 


.\ C i; \KNEY. 



JleUrtittcs |tri?6^cnt 



FRDM OTHER CaMMERCIAL DRGANIZATIDNS, 



of Commerce, 



Baltimore Corn and Flour Exchantj^e, 



Huffaln Merchants' Exchanjje. 



Board of I'rade, Charleston, W. \' 



Chamber of C( 



Chicago Bi 



J. G. Ogiesu^ , 
Hon. R. B. Hlllock. 
J. J. Spamiing, 
R. D. Spalding, 
S. F. Woodson, 
T. B. Pa INK. 
William -S. Vol no. 
H. F. Tlknek, 
E. B. Owens, 
John C. Legg, 
C. W. Slagle. 

S. S. GfTIIRIE, 

GusTAv I'leisciiman: 
John A. Sevmouk. 
George Davis, 

Neil Robinson. 

( B. E. Got LDING, 

( J. T. Hill. 

^ E. Nelson Blaki, 
Ernest A. Hamill, 
(tEokge O. Rumsey, 
George F. Stone, 
George M. Mow. 



Board of Trade, Cleveland, Ohi 



( Hon. George W. Gardner. 

I M. B. Cl.ARK. 

, Clinton D. Firestone. 
Cohunbus (Ohio) Board of Trade, - Emilus O. Randall, 

*- Charles G. Lord. 
Duluth Chamber of Commerce, - - S. A. Thompson. 

, William Scott, Pn-s'i, 
Indianapolis Board of Trade, - - -^ Geo. G. Tanner, K/rt'-ZV^.s-'/. 

^ D. P. Erwin. 

, jM. L. Ross, PresU, 
Knoxville Chamber of Conniierce, - -^ TION. J. C. Luttrell. 

*^ Major E. C. Camp. 

[ J. E. Keller, Pt-cs't, 
Chamber of Commerce, Lexington, Ky. -> 

( A. J. Camphell, Srr'y. 

, Wm. Cornwall, Jr., I'iusU, 
I^onisville Pxiard of Trade, " " " ! Tiios. >L Sherlev, ]'.- Prcs't, 

^ TlLiLS Barkiiousk, V.-Pfcs'l. 

, E. A. Keeling, Scc'Vi 
Menipliis Merchants' Exchange, - •' Harry E. Coj'FIN, 

*- C. L. FiCKLEN. 

Capt. C. B. Russell. 



I John C. Rogers 



L. I>. Crisp. 
John Iohnston, 



J, .Milwankei 



rchants" JCxehange, .\ashville, Ti 
(VI) 



1 

1 


A. 


ASML 


:th, 




I 


\V 


. R 


. M 


cLak 


EN. 




lo, 


I.N 


C. 


Reno 




( 

1 


Cii 


lAR 


LKS NeL 


SON, 


Gi 


;ORGE 


S. Ki 


NNE^ 


I 


.loi 


UN 


X. 


Sper 


RV. 



.i-:(;ati:s i-reskn" 



, S. S. GuTiiKlE, Ftrr-rns'/. 
.nil H.vinl ..r Trulr - . . ^ lUifValo, N. V. 

^ I.oiiisvillc.Ky. 

, isr. w. stonk, 

^•|lrk Colldn Exchansf, - - ' S. T. TIuiiiiAun, J i<.. 

^ P.. S. Cl.AKK. 

Euct.TD Maktin, /'r,s-/. 



, Jiuct.in Maktin, P/;s-/, 
{ Max AIkvek, I/V,-/V, s7. 



^ Petek P>()\kr. 

f C. C. Mii.es, /'n-.s7, 
Pcoi-ia P.o;ir.l of Tra.k', ... J 

( A. 11. lUoc. SWf. 

( E. I,. ROf.EKS, 

C.i.nimTcial Kxcliantff of Philad<.'l|ihi:i. - 

( J. C. Klaudek. 

Pitts)nir^li Grain and Flour Kxrlia nyc, C. F. lIouNixt;. 

Portla.ul (On-.) Hoard ,.f Trade. - Ciiaki.es II. Pod,.. 

Providence Board of Trade, - - T. Fked. Bkown. 

R. W. POWEUS, 

Ricliniond (\'a.) Cliamber ol Commerce, ' M. J. Dimmock, 



^ R. P.. Lee. 



St. I-ouis Merchants' Exchansfe, - - Alex. Euston. 

Savannah Board of Trade, - - - Isaac J. Haas. 

Springlicld (Ohio) Board of Trade, - Hon. A. S. BusiiMEi.i., 

Terre Ilante Merchants' Exchange, - Cai'T. A. C. Ford). 



Toledo Produce Exchange, 



Wicliita (Kansas) I!, 



JW. H. Bellman, 
^ ^V. II. Morehouse, 
^ J. F. Zahm. 
, Hon. G. W. Clement, 
•' Col. Geoi<(;e I,. Roise, 
^ Hon. M. M. Mi kdoc k. 



I^ritmcurtbc ©ouccvt* 



8 TO II O'CLOCK. 



CINCINNATI GRAND DRCpES'I'RA 

Michael Brand, Conductor. 



Herman Bellstedt, Jr 
Henry Sievers, 
Carl Schuett, 
w. kohlman, 



Cornel Soloist 

Cornet Soloist 

Clarionet Soloist 

rombone Soloist 



PRDGRRMME. 

March — Inaugural . . 

Overture — Zanipa 
Concert AV'altz — Casrliostrd 
CoRNFT Soi.o — PolUa ilf Conct-rl 

Herman Bellstepi . | 
Sklections — Aniiirit:i .... 
Overture— Martha .... 
Passing Regiment .... 

Clarionet Sold — Roluniian (iirl 

Caki. Schuett. 
SeI-ECTIO.ns — Krminic- .... 

Gavottf — Pearl of I'cKin 
Cori^iet Duet .... 

Messrs. r.KM.sTKDT a 
\Vai.T7. — Lile lei us Chcrisli 
Amaryllis— .\ir, Kin^ I^ouis XIII. 
TKOMnoNE Soio— Hnuianze 

\V. KOHI.M/ 

Selections — \'ic<;- Admiral 
Finale — Adieu \ 



Svendsen 

Herald 

S/rmisf 

Bellstedt 

Czibulka 

Floto-v 

Coverly 

Tioelim 

'Jtifobovski 

Kcrher 

llaitmaii 



Ghys 
Snrl/xe 



.Uil/oecier 
Pa rlom 



W K 1 ) N K ^s 1 ) .-\ \ , J ^ X LJ ^ K ^ ••'.(), 1 iS K O 

10 O'CLOCK A. M. 

Procession of Members hon' th^' >Vd Fxchanyeto the New Burld^ng 

10 TO II O'CLOCK. 

Music by the Orchestra. 

11 O'CLOCK A M. 

Call to Ordei, . . - President Thomas MORRISON 

-"rayer by the Rev B. W Chidlaw, D D. 

Address of Henry C Urner, oq Delivering to the Board of Direc- 
tors the Keys of the Nevy Building, or] behalf cf the 
Board of Real Estate Manaqers. 

Reception uf tlie Property and Response, by Thomas i\/l0RRiS0N, 
President of the Chamber of Commerce 

Dedicatory Hymq. composed by Sidney D. Maxwell 

Air— ^•0\d Hundred." Orctiestka .\ni> Aidientk. 

Oratio'i, - Geq. Edv^/ard F, Noyes. 

::i;S!C. 

Address oj Welcome to Representa- 1 ^^ ,^q^ Smith, Jr., Mayor, 
tives of other Commercial Bodies, J 

MUSIC. 

Addresses by Visiting Delegates. 

MUSIC. 

Adiournment. 

tl5) 

I 



^hc ^^ttl^c^*$♦ 



ARCHITECTS. 
II. H. Rmi.\KDSON, Architect, lirookline, Mu.ss. 
-SiiKi'i.F.v, Rlta.\ vt COOLIDCE, Architects, Boston, successors to Mr. II. II. 

Richardson, continucil the work after his death. 
D. C. IIAI.E, Superintendent of Construction, representing Shepley. liutan 

.V Coolidge. 
A. (). Ei./.XKK. representiiiij Shepley, Rutan \- Coolid^e, superintei\(U(l tin- 

construction of the Foundations. 

CONTRACTORS. 

General Contractors Nokckoss Hros., Worcester, Mass. 

K^xcavations and Fouiulations . . . Patrick Murray, Cincinnati. 

Electric I-ight Plant The Brush Electric Co., Cleveland. 

Gas and Electric I-i.a:ht Fixtures. Donn, Weknek ^t Co., Cincinnati. 

Chairs G. IIensiiaw A: Sons, Cincinnati. 

Cariiets, Rugs, Curtains, X'c The John Shii.i.ito Co.. Cincinnati. 

Stained Glass ^'oLI.^ll■;R iV: Tomoor, Cincinnati. 



Dec( 



^ Robert Mitchri.i, Firni 
/ Cincinnati. 



IT„ite,l Stites M-,n rhnl.- *'^"''- ClTLER M AN>- 1 ACTU U I X(; C( 

L'niied states Ai.ui ^^nulc ^ RoclK"^ter X \ 

PRINCIPAL SUBCONTRACTORS UNDER NORCROSS BROS. 

Pluinliin>;- and Gas-titting- J.G. MiKDoCK \- Co., Cincinnati. 

Plastering- Eawrence Gkace, Cincinnati. 

Carving (Stone and Wood) Evans it Tombs, Boston, Mass. 

Floor Tiling Eureka Foundry Co., Cincinnati. 

Boilers McIlvaix it Si-iegei., Cincinnati. 

F'urnaces Murphy Iron Works, Detroit. Mic 

Pumps The Laidlaw & Dunn Co., Cincinna 

Elevators Hale Elevator Co., Chicago, 111. 

Steam-heating and Ventilation.. F. Tudok, Boston, Mass. 

Speaking-tubes and Fllcctric Bells A. Becker, Cincinnati. 



Sidewalks. 



4Chas. Kuhl Artificial Stone Co., 
\ Cincinnati. 



,, , , , (Tames McDonougii,> f^- ■ 
Marble-work IJose,-.. Foster ) C.ncn.na 

(Ki) 



INTRODUCTION. 

It appears from the newspapers of the time 
that a commercial organization, with which mer- 
chants of Cincinnati were connected, existed prior 
to the present organization ; bnt it seems either to 
have ceased to exist, or to have been nneqnal to 
meeting the wants of the time; for the desira- 
bleness of organizing a " Board of Trade '' was 
agitated in the Yonng ]Men's ^Mercantile Library 
Association, which had been fonnded abont fonr 
years before, as early as May 2, 1839, and a com- 
mittee was appointed at that time to procnre sig- 
natnres to a call for a public meeting to promote 
this end. This committee not having accom- 
pRslied the purpose of the resolution, the subject 
was again considered on the ist of October fol- 
lowing, and on motion of Mr. James F. Torrence 
the following resolution was adopted : 



18 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



''^ Resolved^ That the chair appoint a committee 
of three, whose duty it shall be to procure signa- 
tures to a call for a pviblic meeting, to be held 
in this hall, on the 15th instant, for the purpose 
of establishing a Board of Trade in this city." 

The chair appointed on this committee Messrs. 
James F. Torrence, C. Dufifield, and M. R. Taylor. 
How faithfully they appear to have discharged 
their duty is evidenced in the following call for a 
public meeting, which appeared in the Cincinnati 
Daily Gazette on the 14th of October, 1839, fifty 
years preceding the occupation of the building, 
the dedicatory exercises of which are perpetuated 
in this volume : 

" We, the undersigned, feeling the want of a 
Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade in 
this city, and believing it would be of great advan- 
tage, recommend a meeting of the merchants, on 
the 15th of this month, at the hall of the Young- 
Men's Mercantile Library Association [kindh- ten- 
dered for this purpose], to take into consideration 



CIN'CINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 19 



such measures as may be uecessary to carry it 
into effect. Signed : Kilgour, Taylor & Co., 
Gazzani & Rutlel", C. & L. Fletcher, Thomas J. 
Adams, R. Buchanan, John Young, Thos. Newell, 
James Reynolds, Chas. Fisher, Allen & Co., J. & 
S. H. Goodin, Green & Woodward, David Loring, 
Miller & Farrar, S. Fosdick & Co., Geo. H. Hart- 
well, Peter Neff, J. H. Groesbeck, Burrows & 
Hall, Jos. S. Bates & Co., Samuel Trevor, G. W. 
Messick, J. A. Simpson, Charles Foster, S. E. 
Pleasants, Avery & Athearn, William Goodman, 
Caleb Bates, J. York, Samuel B. Findley, John M. 
Rowan, Glascoe & Harrison, Wm. Disney & Son, 
Wm. Parry,' C. Sontag & Co., E. Poor & Co., J. G. 
Smith & Co., Henry Miller, Irwin & Whiteman, 
Strader & Gorman, Henry Rockey, E. Lawrence 
& Co., L. Worthington, J. R. Baldridge, John 
Bailey & Co., J. P. Irwin, Corwin, Foot & Co., 
R. W. Lee, Hartshorne & Co., John Pullan, S. B. 
Hunt, N. W. Thomas & Co., Josiah Lawrence, 
John D. Jones, H. A. Amelung, J. & J. Graham, 



20 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 

Trimble & Woodrow, George Carlisle, J. R. 
Coram & Co., U. P. James, Win. R. Foster, Phillips 
& Heaton, Kellogg, Kennett & Co., Joel Green, 
Huiinewell & G. H. Hill, Foot & Bowler, Wm. 
Irwin, G. Luckey & Co., Shillito & Pullan, John 
Reeves & Co., Jones & xA.rmstrong, Richard Bates, 
George Conklin, J. D. Walbridge, N. P. Iglehart, 
J. Smith." 

The meeting was held according to appoint- 
ment, R. Bnchanan occnpying the chair. On 
motion of INI. R. Taylor, the chairman appointed 
the following Committee on Organization : M. R. 
Taylor, John Yonng, George H. Hartwell, R. G. 
Mitchell, and i\I. Ranne)'. The committee thus 
appointed reported the following, which was 
adopted : 

" ir/icrcas. The great and constanth- increasing 
importance of the commerce of this cit\", in the 
opinion of this meeting, requires the organization 
of a Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade, 
for the purpose of establishing uniform regulations 



CINCIXXATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 



and unison of action in the promotion of its mer- 
cantile interests ; therefore, 

" Rrs(>/:r(-/, That a committee of fifteen persons 
be selected to draw up a code of regulations for 
the government of such a bod>', and subject the 
same to an adjourned meetincr, to be held at this 
place on Tuesday evening next, the 2 2d of Oc- 
tober, at seven o'clock." 

The following gentlemen were then chosen 
members of the committee authorized by this 
resolution : Griffin Taylor, Peter Neflf, R. Buchanan, 
Thomas J. Adams, S. Trevor, George H. Hart- 
well, R. G. :\Iitchell, John Young, S. B. Findley, 
N. W. Thomas, John Bailey, James McCandless, 
Jacob Strader, L. Whiteman, and S. O. Butler. 

On the 2 2d day of October, 1839, the first 
constitution w^as adopted, and a committee w^as 
appointed to obtain subscribers thereto, and at 
a meeting held on the 29th of the same month 
the committee reported one hundred and ninety- 
nine names having been obtained, whereu])on the 



22 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



following officers were elected to serve until the 
regnlar election in January following : Griffin 
Taylor, President; R. G. Mitchell, Peter Neif, 
S. B. Findley, John Reeves, Thos. J. Adams, and 
Jacob Strader, Vice-presidents ; Henry Rockey, 
Secretary ; and B. W. Hewson, Treasurer. 

The Young Men's Mercantile Library Associa- 
tion, in the rooms of which these meetings were 
held, was the institution around which the new 
organization in its early history largely revolved. 
At the first regular annual meeting of the Cham- 
ber of Commerce, held January 14, 1840, the 
committee appointed on the subject recommended 
the procuring of apartments in the College Build- 
ing, on the east side of Walnut Street, between 
Fourth and Fifth streets, in connection with the 
Library Association, at a rental of three hundred 
dollars per annum, one third to be paid by the 
Chamber. This recommendation was adopted, 
and so the fortunes of the two bodies were thus at 
once closelv united. This intimate relation con- 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 



23 



tinned, the Chamber of Commerce paying a share 
of the rent for the rooms jointly occnpied nntil 
the building was destroyed by fire in the winter 
of 1844-45. 

After the erection of the new College Building 
on Walnut Street, the Young Men's Mercantile , 
Library Association, having secured a perpetual 
lease without rent of the front rooms on the 
second floor, now occupied by the association, in 
consideration of $10,000 raised and paid by it to 
the College Trustees, removed to the new edifice 
from the temporary quarters on the east side of 
Sycamore Street above Fourth, where it had found 
accommodations after the fire, and to which it had 
taken also the young Chamber of Commerce. In 
recognition of the liberalit>- of the merchants of 
the city in helping to raise the money that had 
thus secured the Library Association permanent 
and capacious rooms, the Chamber of Commerce 
was granted the use of the north half of the rooms 
on Walnut Street for five vears, at the nominal 



24 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



rental of one dollar per annum. The Library 
Association was thus, it will be seen, the patron 
of the new commercial organization in the early 
years of its existence, a relation which shoiild 
always be held in grateful remembrance by the 
membership of this body, which has now become 
so conspiciious among the commercial organiza- 
tions of this country and of the world. 

The first meeting of the Chamber of Commerce 
in the new College Building was held July 23, 
1846. Eventually the growing demands of the 
Library Association made it necessary for it to 
have the whole room, so that on the 7th of July, 
1 85 1, the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce and 
Merchants' Exchange, under which title the body 
was then known in its charter, which had been 
procured IMarch 23, 1850, removed to the large 
room on the same floor, in the east half of the 
building, where it remained until the structure 
was partially burned, C)ctober 20, 1869. The 
Chamber of Commerce then removed to Hopkins 



Hall, on the southwest corner of Fourth and 
Ehn streets, remaining^ there, however, only 
until December 27, 1869, when it took up its 
quarters in Smith & Nixon's Hall, on the north 
side of Fourth Street, between Alain and Walnut 
streets. On the 23d day of November, 1881, the 
bodv removed to the rear room on the second 
floor of Pike's Opera-house Building, on the south 
side of Fourth Street, between Walnut and Vine, 
continuing there until ready to enter upon the 
occupancv of its own edifice. The last session 
was held in the old hall on Tuesday, January 29, 
1889". 



26 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



THE PROMENADE CONCERT. 

In the evening of Tuesday, January 29, 1889, the 
new building was opened to the members of the 
Chamber of Commerce, their families, and invited 
guests. Invitations had been issued in the follow- 
ing language : " The Cincinnati Chamber of Com- 
merce invites yourself and ladies to attend a 
Promenade Concert in its New Building, Tuesday 
evening, January 29, 1889, from eight until eleven 
o'clock. Present this card at the door." Every 
thing was complete for the event. The great 
floor with its broad expanse had been cleared of 
every obstacle. The handsome bulletin-boards, 
which on the following morning at ten o'clock 
were to begin proclaiming their messages of 
values and movements, skirted the hall, and 
rather, because of their suggestiveness, gave 
increased interest to the occasion. The telegraph- 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 



wires which had been connected with the various 
parts of the room, and which thereafter were to 
be the great channels of correspondence with the 
markets of the world, had been temporarily hidden 
beneath the floor. Plants and flowers adorned 
the hall and its approaches. Electric and gas- 
lights illnminated every room in the house, all 
parts of which were thrown open. The great 
ceiling, with its colored glass charmingly revealed 
bv the electric lights from above, seemed like 
a broad canopy resplendent in color and light. 
Calciimi-lights illnminated the exterior, so that 
the imposing structure, with its majestic outlines 
and its exquisite details alike revealed, stood out 
against the curtain of the night in such perfec- 
tion and grandeur that multitudes thronged the 
adjacent streets, throughout the entire evening, 
admiring the novel spectacle. 

At eight o'clock the doors were thrown open to 
those holding tickets of admission, large numbers 
having collected about the entrance prior to the 



28 • DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



arrival of the hour. From that time, for almost two 
hours, a great processiou of ladies and gentlemen 
urged itself along the approaches to the main hall 
and upper rooms, x^t times the throng was so 
great that the doors were closed to allow of the 
comfortable distribution of those within. The 
officers of the Chamber of Commerce with their 
wives, and the committee having the arrange- 
ments for the evening in charge, as far as possi- 
ble, welcomed the guests ; the Cincinnati Grand 
Orchestra, on a raised platform half hidden by a 
profusion of tropical plants, rendered beautiful 
music ; while thousands came and went, admiring, 
complimenting, congratulating, and patiently bear- 
ing the discomforts of thronged apartments until 
the hour of eleven o'clock arrived, which marked 
the conclusion of the event. 

It was a proud evening for the members of the 
Chamber of Commerce, and specially grateful to 
the members of the successive Boards of Real 
Estate Managers, of whose devotion, intelligence, 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 29 



and taste the completed structure spoke so im- 
pressively ; but it was pre-eminently an occasion 
in which the mind of all dwelt upon the great 
architect, Richardson, who had conceived of the 
edifice, committed it to paper, and then laid down 
his life content with makino; it his monumental 
work. 



30 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



THE DEDICATION. 



On Wednesday morning, January 30, 1889, at 
ten o'clock, the members assembled in the old hall 
preparatory to taking formal possession of the 
new edifice. The procession was preceded by the 
Superintendent of Police, in command of twenty 
members of his force, and by the First Regiment 
Band. Then followed the color-bearer and his 
two assistants, the Grand Marshal, the Chairman 
of the Executive Committee having in charge the 
ceremonies, the President, Vice-presidents, Direc- 
tors, Treasurer, Secretary, and Superintendent of 
the Chamber of Commerce, the Mayor of the city, 
the members of the Board of Real Estate Managers, 
the Executive Committee, the ex-Presidents of the 
institution who were present, the clerical force, 
and the members of the association, marching four 
abreast. The procession thus formed, under the 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 31 



direction of the Grand Marshal, aided by his assist- 
ants, marched east on Fourth Street to Wahmt ; 
on Wahiut to Fifth ; on Fifth to Race ; on Race 
to Fourth; and on Fourth to the new edifice on 
the southwest corner of Fourth and Vine : there 
having been by actual count 1,874 persons in line. 

At the vestibule of the new hall the procession 
was met by the Chairman of the Floor Committee 
and his associates, and was seated, the delegates 
from other commercial bodies and the invited 
guests occupying seats immediately in front of 
the rostrum. Every chair was occupied, and in 
the rear many persons were standing, a few occu- 
pying the visitors' gallery. 

Occupying the rostrum were the President and 
those designated to take a formal part in the dedi- 
catory exercises. 

The orchestra occupied a raised platform in the 
northeast corner of the building, the special choir 
of male voices sitting immediately in its front, 
the room being tastefully decorated with plants 



82 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



and flowers, and the superb hall, with its splendid 
appointments, brilliant in the sunlight of a bright 
winter morning. Under such circumstances, the 
members generally of the Chamber of Commerce 
caught the first da)-light view of their magnificent 
home and read in it the realization of the dream 
of fiftv years. 



CIN'CINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 



33 



THE PRAYER. 

At the conclusion of a potpourri of national 
airs by the band, Mr. Thomas Morrison, the 
President of the Chamber of Commerce and :\Ier- 
chants' Exchange, arose and said : 

Gentlemen of the Chamber of 

Commerce and Invited Guests: 
Yon will please come to order. The time 
appointed for the dedication of this bnilding has 
at length arrived. It is fitting and right that the 
first official act in this Chamber shall be a recog- 
nition of Almighty God, the giver of all good. 
We will therefore bow in reverence, while the 
Rev. Dr. Chidlaw, whom I now introdnce, invokes 
His blessing. 



34 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



The Rev. B. W. Chidlaw, D. D., then arose 
and made the following prayer: 

Almighty and everlasting God, who dwellest 
on high, onr Creator, Preserver, and Judge, the 
God of our life and our hope for eternity, on this 
day of gladness, with these inspiring surround- 
ings, we come into Thy presence with adoration, 
praise, thanksgiving, and supplication. May Thy 
glory and greatness. Thy goodness and mercy, fill 
our souls with love, reverence, and humility; and, 
thus aided by the Holy Spirit, may we worship 
Thee in the beauty of holiness and in the fear 
of God. 

O Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling-place 
in all generations. Before the mountains were 
brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the 
earth, from everlasting to everlasting. Thou art 
God. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, 
and His greatness is unmeasurable. All Thy works 
praise Thee in Creation, Providence, and Redemp- 
tion, Thou God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 



cixcixxATi cha:\iber of co.aimerce. 35 



Let all the people praise Thee ; then shall the 
earth vield her increase, and God, even onr own 
God, shall bless us, and all the ends of the earth 
shall fear Him. 

We render unto Thee, the Lord our God, our 
hearty and sincere thanks for unnumbered bless- 
ings, temporal and spiritual, bestowed upon us ; 
for the exalted rank we occupy in the scale of 
being. Thou hast made us but little lower than 
the angels, and given us dominion over the works 
of Thy hand ; and, as heirs of immortality. Thou 
hast made it our duty and exalted privilege to 
glorify thee upon the earth, that we may enjoy 
Thee forever. Help us, O Lord, to realize all the 
possibilities of our manhood in this life, and to 
secure the awards of eternity. 

As the God of nations, we devoutly thank Thee 
for our country, with its productive soil, rich min- 
erals, and wonderful development ; for our origin 
Thou didst, in thine own good time, sift the 
nations of Europe to find seed to j^lant in the 



36 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



virgin soil of the New World. Our fathers trusted 
in Thee, and Thou didst deliver them amid the 
perils, privations, and dangers of colonial times ; 
Thou didst provide heroes and statesmen, who 
achieved our independence, and laid broad and 
deep the foundations of our free government, the 
best on the face of the earth ; and when armed 
treason assailed our National life Thou wentest 
forth with our armies, saved the life of the Nation, 
and preserved our glorious Union, one and indi- 
visible, now and forever. 

As a commonwealth in this great sisterhood of 
States, with its millions of free, prosperous, and 
happy people, we gratefully thank Thee, the Giver 
of every good and perfect gift, for what Thou hast 
done for us diiring the first century of our State 
history. Sureh', the Lord has done great things 
for us, whereof we are glad. The unbroken wil- 
derness has become a cultivated and fruitful field; 
happy homes, school -houses, and sanctuaries 
beautify the landscape, while commercial enter- 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 37 



prises, facilities for intercommunication, extensive 
and varied manufactures indicate industry, thrift, 
and general prosperity. We would reverently 
rejoice and offer Thee our humble thanksgivings 
as we contemplate the history of this goodly and 
prosperous city of our habitation during its first 
centur)'. To-day, and within these majestic walls, 
as we think of its mercantile palaces, its beau- 
tiful and pleasant homes, its great industries, its 
schools, its temples of art, of justice and religion, 
we can but exclaim, What hath God wrought ! 
and to Him we accord the homage of our hearts, 
and would consecrate to Him the devotion of our 
lives. 

And now, O Lord, who hearest and answerest 
prayer, grant unto us assembled in this magnifi- 
cent structure, with its firm foundation, its massive 
granite walls and beauty of architecture, so perfect 
with appointments, and complete in all its finish, 
Thy rich and abiding blessing, and accept our 
thanks for the organization and history of the 



38 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 

Chamber of Commerce ; for those wise and enter- 
prising merchants, men ever to be remembered 
and honored, who nearly fifty years ago, for the 
sake of friendship, social intercourse, and to facili- 
tate commercial transactions, united together and 
organized on a sure basis this usefiil, honored, 
and noble association. We thank Thee, our 
Heavenly Father, ruling in the affairs of men, 
for the success which attended their wise and 
faithful efforts, and that their mantle fell on the 
shoulders of their worthy successors, and for the 
commanding position, influence, and prosperity 
now enjoyed. We humbly thank Thee for the 
conception and the erection of this magnificent 
and beautiful and permanent house, this day 
dedicated to the highest interests of commerce 
and social cultiire. May its pure and elevating 
influence, its prosperity, increase and continue a 
rich blessing on generations yet unborn. 

We praise Thee, O Lord, that in the erection 
of this massive and imposing building so few 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 39 



accidents occurred. With sorrow of heart we 
deplore the death, in the line of duty, of one of 
the best mechanics, brave, true, and faithful ; and 
earnestly implore Thy richest blessinp;s on the 
stricken hearts mournino- for their dead. 

We beseech Thee, O God, to continue Thy 
favors, temporal and spiritual, to us as a Nation, 
a State, and a City. Riile Thou in the hearts 
of our rulers, grant unto us just and good men 
as magistrates and judges, righteous officers of 
courage and judgment to execute our good and 
wholesome laws, that immorality, vice, and crime 
may be suppressed, society protected, and violence 
cease in the land. We pray that in all our in- 
dustrial affairs capital and labor may harmonize, 
and mutual confidence be uninterrupted; that all 
wage-earners may, for honest labor, receive that 
which is just and equal, and all lawful enterprises 
and investments be fully remunerated and pros- 
pered ; that in all the affairs of life we may bear 
each others' burdens, and so fulfill the law of 



40 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



Christ; that integrity, honesty, jnstice, and charity 
may ever characterize onr commercial transac- 
tions and control in all onr business affairs, and 
thus peace, contentment, and prosperity rest upon 
the thoughts of our hearts and the work of our 
hands. 

iVgain, O Lord, our God and Father, we ear- 
nestly implore Thy choicest blessings to rest now 
and ever upon the Cincinnati Chamber of Com- 
merce, its oflUcers and members, and the invited 
guests. Let Thy shield ever protect this grand, 
beautiful, and imposing building from all disaster ; 
let its towering walls of strength and beauty 
remain a memorial of the taste, enterprise, and 
resources of the association, and an inspiration 
for future generations of young men to emulate 
the virtues and imitate the example thus set 
before them. 

Bless all in Thy Divine presence, and grant 
unto us all the forgiveness of our sins for His 
sake, who has taught us when we pray to say : 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 41 



"Oiir Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be 
Thv name. Tin- kingdom come. Tin- will be 
done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give ns this 
dav onr dailv bread. And fortrive ns our debts, 
as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into 
temptation, but deliver us from evil : For thine 
is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, 
forever. Amen." 



42 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



THE DELIVERY AND RECEPTION OF 
THE KEYS. 

Mr. Henry C. Urner, to whom the duty had 
been committed by the Board of Real Estate 
Managers, of which he had been a member from 
its organization, after the performance of a piece 
by the band, arose to formally deliYcr the edifice 
to its owners, receiving, both for himself, so long 
and intimately identified with the great work, 
and for his devoted colleagues, repeated rounds 
of applause, and the most marked evidence of the 
approbation and gratitude of the membership. 
Mr. Urner said : 

Mr. President and (roillcuicu : 

Historically and sentimentally the occasion 
presents many interesting features ; but whatever 
those features may be, the controlling interest 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 43 



iimst, I think, center in the buikhng- which we 
to-day inaugurate. In speaking to that subject, 
on behalf of my associates of the Board of Real 
Estate Alanagers, I find myself so absorbed by 
the work which I have done with them, and so 
much under the mental domination of the genius 
of the great architect who designed the building, 
and who has departed all too soon from the great 
and massive triumphs of his art, and before he 
was permitted to witness in enduring construction 
the latest offspring of his brain, that I must speak 
under the severest restrictions; else the time, 
which must include many interests, would be con- 
fined to but one. 

Our Superintendent, Colonel Maxwell, in his 
last annual report has given an extended and 
valuable history of the Chamber of Commerce 
from its foundation, in which he has detailed the 
successive steps by which it was enabled to secure 
the lot upon which the building stands, and to 
proceed with the erection of the building. He 



44 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



has given such account as was possible at the 
time he wrote of the details of construction, and 
he has also given full credit to the many persons 
who have actively assisted in making the enter- 
prise possible. Limited as I am for time, it will 
not be necessary to more than briefly allude to 
these details here. 

As soon as the condition of affairs warranted 
it, the Board of Real Estate Managers instituted a 
competition in designs for the proposed building, 
in which a numberof the most prominent architects 
of the country participated. From the designs 
presented the Board, by unanimous vote, selected 
the one submitted by Mr. H. H. Richardson, of 
Brookline, Mass., as the most satisfactory, and he 
was appointed architect of the building. 

In deciding upon the character of the building, 
the matter of first necessity was to provide for the 
utilitarian purposes to which it was to be applied. 
Principal of these was a proper provision for a 
great hall for the daily sessions of the association 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 45 



and apartments for its other nses. Spaces were 
also to be provided from which rents could be de- 
rived. After suitable provision for these purposes 
had been made in the design, it was the inten- 
tion to construct a building of enduring materials, 
which should assure it against the accidents that 
ofttimes work to the destruction of buildings, and 
to build in such massive mold that it should resist, 
as far as possible, the assaults of time itself. 
Added to these considerations was the desire that 
in its architectural form and proportions the 
building should be of noble simplicity in outline, 
rich in adornment, suitable and serviceable in 
genuine vital art, clear in its structural expression, 
and practically representative of the uses and pur- 
poses of the organization which built it, and that it 
should stand for all time as a suitable contribution 
to the architecture of the city from its chief com- 
mercial organization, whose members had been so 
largely the cause of the city's prosperity — a pros- 
perity in which they have abundantly shared. 



46 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



This was the problem to which the architect 
addressed himself with the enthusiasm and com- 
pelling wall of genius. In conversation he many 
times said. to me that the designing of this building 
presented to him more interesting architectural 
features than had been in an}- work which he had 
ever undertaken. He had, he said, designed many 
buildings for public use and for private use, but 
never had he had such a task before him of joining 
those uses, and of constructing an edifice which 
should not only be adapted to both, but which 
should show by its exterior its chief inner purpose, 
which was to be, as he expressed it, the home of 
a great civic organization. 

How well he carried out these thoughts, and 
in what noble purpose they have culminated, the 
building itself will tell more eloquently than can 
any human tongue long after we who to-day cele- 
brate its completion by dedicating it to practical 
use shall have passed away. 

Mr. Richardson died before the practical work 



CINCINNATI CHAIMBER OF COMMERCE. 47 



of construction was begun. How much the build- 
ing might have benefited in its muUiplicity of 
details by his personal supervision of the work it 
is, of course, impossible to say. Fortunately for 
us and for art the plans of the building were 
entirely complete and were ready for use before 
his death. Messrs. Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge, 
all of whom had been pupils of Mr. Richardson 
and in his employ, succeeded to his business, and 
became his natural successors as architects of the 
building. These gentlemen have carried out the 
original design with a loving reverence to their 
former master, and under their guidance and su- 
per^'ision the building has been completed. 

In this connection I am directed by the Board 
of Real Estate Managers to express its acknowl- 
edgments for helpful services constantly rendered 
by Mr. D. C. Hale, who has represented the archi- 
tects as clerk of the works. 

Although the demolition of the building which 
formerly stood upon this site was begun ]\Ia\- 31, 



48 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



1886, under a contract for building the foundations 
of the new building, it was not until June, 1887, 
that work was begun thereon by Messrs. Norcross 
Brothers, to whom had been awarded, under com- 
petition, a contract for the erection and finishing 
of the superstructure. During the time between 
that date and the present — about twenty months — 
the entire work has been accomplished, and to-day 
the building stands read}' for occupancy, and com- 
plete in all its parts, except that some minor 
details of fixtures and furniture are not in place, 
although all have been contracted for. 

In the decorating, furnishing, and finishing ot 
the building a large number of persons have been 
engaged. It would, I think, extend my remarks 
unreasonably were I to attempt to acknowledge 
their labors in detail, and I must limit myself to 
a general statement of the appreciation of the 
Board, and leave their work to praise them, which 
I believe it will abundantly do. Should any pub- 
lication of to-day's proceedings be made, the 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 49 



names of all the contractors who have been en- 
gaged in the work should appear in it. 

The great philosopher of natural selection and 
evolution tells us that the evolution of the indi- 
vidual and his environment proceed together. 
Carrying this principle into the experience of the 
Chamber of Commerce, ma}- we not conclude that 
the same influences which have caused the great 
development and growth of its membership and 
of its members, and its constant progression in 
power and influence, from its infancy in the year 
1839, when seventy-six firms and indi\-iduals or- 
ganized the association, until the present time, 
when it stands among similar institutions of our 
country third in point of numbers, and second 
to none in character and influence, have by a 
natural process of evolution created the noble 
building which we to-day dedicate, and which 
fulfills the long-deferred hope for a suitable and 
permanent home; and may we not yield to a feel- 
ing that we have been compelled to this consum- 



50 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



Illation h\ a power forceful as nature itself, which 
establishes between man and his surroundings a 
correspondence which, by a constant action and 
reaction the one upon the other, operates to the 
advantage of both. If this be true, although we 
to-day celebrate the completion of this building, 
who can say when it was begun? Speculations 
such as these have pursued and possessed me 
during my connection with this task. As the 
workmen laid their courses, and the walls arose 
in the air, in some imaginative wa}- the great 
mass of stone and iron seemed gradually to grow 
into harmony with the principles upon which our 
organization was founded, and to become their 
vital exemplar. And finalh', when grace, strength, 
and fitness crowned the work, in its completed 
perfectness it seemed less an example than an 
expression — an expression of the long line of high 
thoughts and aspirations, of patient and successful 
endeavors, which extend through the half century 
of the existence of the association, and which are 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCK. 51 



the links in one continuing- chain which binds 
together the members of the past and the present, 
and whicli in tlie future shall connect our succes- 
sors with all who have gone before. 

And now, Mr. President, with a high .sense of 
the honor done me in this assignment, on behalf 
of the Board of Real Estate Managers, with these 
keys as a token, I surrender to you, and through 
you to the members of the Chamber of Commerce, 
our good masters, the house which we have built 
at their command. 

President Morrison received the keys from the 
hand of Mr. Urner, and when the great applause 
which marked the conclu.sion of the latter's remarks 
had .siibsided responded in the following words : 

Mr. Urncr: In the name of the Cincinnati 
Chamber of Commerce I accept these keys that 
unlock and throw open to our members for all 
time this magnificent temple, which we this dav 



52 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



dedicate to the interest of coininerce. and industry. 
They are the emblems of a completed task well 
and faithfully performed, and to you and your 
associates of the Board of Real Estate Managers, 
as well as to the architects and contractors and 
their representatives, who have vied with each 
other in performing" well and thoroughly their 
parts, I tender the heartfelt thanks of each mem- 
ber of this association. 

Gentlemen of the Chamber, in accepting in 
your name this splendid edifice, which is hence- 
forth to be your business home, I desire to tender 
you my most hearty congratiilations. May you 
use it well and enjoy its advantages. It will 
do much to give strength and character to our 
organization. 

Fifty vears ago the merchants of this city, 
realizing the necessity of an organized effort for 
the better promotion of their interests, in meeting 
assembled, resolved that the great and constantly- 
increasing importance of the commerce of this 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 53 



cit\", in their opinion, reqnired the organization 
of a Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade, 
for the purpose of establishing uniform regula- 
tions and unison of action in the promotion of its 
mercantile interests. 

That they were justified in their action, this 
association of to-da}-, with its 2,230 members and 
a half century of history, is a li\-ing witness. For 
fifty years has this Chamber faithfulh- performed 
its mission: maintaining just rules and regulations; 
true to ever}- interest of its members and of the 
cit\' ; ever expanding in influence ; increasing in 
its powers and usefulness until it has become one 
of the most influential commercial bodies in the 
country, justifying the hopes of its founders and 
the pride and loyalty of its members. 

For many years in its early history it had a 
struggling existence, with varying fortunes, and, 
being a tenant at will, had several times to change 
its quarters, but at length its members fully awoke 
to the necessit)- of acquiring a permanent home. 



54 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



At last we have the fniition of our hopes and 
the realization of our dreams, when we stand here 
for the first time under our own roof, and survey 
with pride this great house, complete in all its 
appointments, that we to-day dedicate to the in- 
terests of trade and commerce. Planted on ever- 
lasting foundations, its walls chiseled and chased, 
it will stand in its stately proportions for ages, a 
monument to your munificence and wisdom. 

The Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, with its 
membership — the largest in its history — broadly 
representative in character, embracing more wealth 
and culture than ever before, is a power for good, 
of which every citizen has reason to feel proud. 
It has given freely of its means, and has ever been 
forward in promoting every good cause, both at 
home and abroad. 

To-day we extend to our guests, delegates from 
sister organizations from all over this broad land 
and from beyond the sea, a most fraternal greeting, 
and bid them a most hearty welcome; and gladly 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, 55 



do we accept their congratulations on this occasion 
of our house-warming. 

We feel we have here a house expressive of 
the character, the financial strength, the culture, 
the faith, hope, and ambition of our people — one 
worthy of our organization, which will ever suggest 
to our members exalted purposes, and to whose 
hospitable portals our friends will find a most 
cordial welcome. 



56 ©EDICATORY EXERCISES. 



THE DEDICATORY HYMN. 

President .Morrison's remarks, and the con- 
sciousness of the members that they were now 
the possessors of the edifice, again evoked pro- 
longed applause, which having subsided, the Pres- 
ident said : 

Geiitlcuicii : You will find on the programme a 
dedicatory hymn composed by Colonel Sidney D. 
Maxwell. It is set to the tune of "Old Hun- 
dred." The orchestra will lead, while we all stand 
in singing. 

The audience thereupon arose, each person 
having been supplied with a copy of the pro- 
gramme in which the hymn was printed. The 
band was assisted by a select chorus of members 
of the Exchange, while the great assembly united 
in reverently setting apart the house to the pur- 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 57 



poses for which it was erected, in the following 
words : 

O God, our Father, now we raise 
Our hearts to Thee, in grateful praise, 
For all the mercies from above, 
Which Thou hast sent us in Thy love. 

In all this house, help us to see 
How Thou dost frame our destin)-; 
And let Thy benediction come. 
And rest upon this business home. 

Within these walls of strength and grace, 
May honor find a dwelling-place ; 
May justice reign ; ma>- truth abide ; 
May right prevail and wisdom guide. 

Hear us, our Father, as we pra)- 
For blessings on our work to-day ; 
Bless membership and guest, and be 
Our help throughout eternit\". 



58 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



The singing of the hymn was an impressive 
event. The air was familiar to alh It was a 
grand chorus of two thousand male voices, siich 
an one as is heard but once in a lifetime. A 
melody, made sacred by many generations' use, not 
only filled the spacious hall and its approaches, 
but swept in great volume to the crowded thor- 
oughfares below, and the passing throng paused 
to listen, and the windows of the adjacent build- 
ings were suddenly peopled with interested hear- 
ers, as the business men of a great city solemnly 
recognized God in his dealings with men, and 
invoked his blessing on the work of their hands 
and on themselves. 



t 



CINXIXXATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 59 



THE ORATION. 



President Alorrison then introduced the orator 
of the day in the following words : 

" I have now the honor of introducing to you 
the orator of this occasion, well and personally 
known to our members and to those from abroad 
by reputation. I have simply to mention the name 
of General Edward F. Noyes." 

Governor Noyes enjoyed a most cordial recep- 
tion and spoke as follows : 

Mr. President and Gentlemen 

of the Chamber of Commerce : 
We arc assembled to formally dedicate to the 
uses for which it was intended this magnificent 
Palace of Industry — this Temple of Trade and 
Commerce— to be devoted henceforth to the busi- 
ness interests of Cincinnati. We rejoice in a 



1 I 



60 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 

building ample in its proportions, massive in its 
structure, perfect in its adaptation, beautiful and 
grand in architecture — at once a monument to^ 
its patrons and builders, and a pride to all our 
citizens. 

May the hand of time be tenderly laid upon it, 
and the fingers of the years touch it gently; may 
no earthquake shatter its walls ; may no violence 
assail it ; may it be spared the consuming fires ; 
and may it remain a joy and a blessing to the 
generations whose busy feet will pass in and out 
its portals long after we who are here to-day shall 
have been called to rest with the fathers. 

This would seem to be an appropriate occa- 
sion for recalling, without unnecessary and tedious 
detail, the history of the organization to which we 
owe this imposing edifice; the progress of the city 
which has made it possible ; the development of 
the State ; and the marvelous growth and pros- 
perit>" of trade and commerce in our countr)-. 

Less than fifty years ago the Cincinnati Cham- 



CINCINNATI CHA.MBER OF COM^MERCE". 61 



ber of Commerce was but a name ; it was com- 
posed of but a small number of merchants, whose 
trade was local, having little communication with 
the outside world for lack of facilities, having no 
home of its own, but depending upon the hos- 
pitality of the Young Men's Mercantile Library 
Association for a room in which to meet, with 
no resources from which to pay its meager ex- 
penses of three thousand dollars per year except 
what was furnished by the liberalit}- of a few 
of the more fortunate citizens ; with no market 
reports, and no means of obtaining them ; with 
only horse-power for the mails and for the inland 
trade : it was little more than a social club, which 
met from time to time to talk over the small 
affairs of a small Western city. It then gave little 
promise of its present proportions, usefulness, 
and prosperity, with a membership of twenty- 
three hundred, with receipts from annual dues 
and otherwise of over sixt}' thousand dollars per 
vear, and with e\-er\- facilitv for the transaction 



62 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



of its business, all of which culminates and finds 
expression in the event we celebrate to-dav. 

The Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce em- 
bodies the business capacity of the city — not 
only of its merchants, but of its manufacturers 
and capitalists ; in it is to be found the concen- 
trated energy and activity of our citizens — the 
associated intelligence, public spirit, and liber- 
ality of our people ; from it every worthy enter- 
prise receives encouragement and an impulse 
which promises success ; while ever^• appalling 
calamity, in whatever part of the country, whether 
by flood or fire, by earthquake or pestilence, is 
responded to with generosity and alacrity ; it rec- 
ognizes the progress of the city as the reward 
of its efforts, and the measure of its own pros- 
perity ; it is interested, and ought to be influ- 
ential, regarding all legislation affecting the citv, 
and especially in keeping taxation at such a limit 
as will attract manufacturing enterprises, instead 
of repelling and driving them away. [Applause.] 



CINCINNATI ,CHA:^IBER OF COMMERCE. 63 



Through the annual reports of its accomplished 
Superintendent it is furnished every year with a 
history of the transactions of the citv, so full, so 
accurate, so able and reliable, that its members 
have always before them the data necessarv for 
intelligent action in all the departments of trade 
and commerce. I venture the assertion that no 
commercial body in any cit\- of the world is fa- 
vored with a report so interesting and so valuable 
as those which year b>- year are presented to this 
body by Col. Sidney D. Maxwell. [Applause.] 

The Chamber of Commerce represents the 
present prosperity, wealth, and happiness of the 
city. And what was the condition of Cincinnati 
fifty years ago? It had a population of about 
forty-five thousand ; it had few wealthy citizens, 
and not many who enjoyed a comfortable inde- 
pendence ; it had no imposing public buildings 
or costly and elegant private residences ; its 
streets were mud and its sidewalks plank ; be- 
vond Central Avenue to the west was a coutinu- 



64 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



ous corn-field, interspersed with clnnips of trees ; 
north of the canal was a cow-pastnre open to 
all comers ; the hills which snrrounded the city 
were covered wath primeval and uncared-for for- 
ests, seamed and disfigured b}' the rain-storms 
of a thousand years ; the only access to the hill- 
tops was on foot or horseback, by winding and 
difficult paths; and when reached they were at- 
tractive only as hunting-grounds for the sports- 
man. 

What prophecy of the fathers could then have 
foretold, what imagination of dreamers could have 
pictured, our city as we see it to-day, with a 
population, including residents of the immediate 
suburbs who do business here and here earn their 
daily bread, of not less than five hundred thou- 
sand souls, and with a trade which involves 
$270,000,000 of imports and $280,000,000 of ex- 
ports ! 

We point with commendable pride to our mag- 
nificent public buildings : to our Custom-house, 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 65 



built bv the General Goveriiiiient in recognition 
of the vast contribntions made to its resources 
bv the city of Cincinnati ; to our Music Hall and 
Exposition Buildings ; to the new Court-house, 
the Art School, the Aluseum, some day to be- 
come, we trust, the South Kensington of Amer- 
ica ; to the City Hall, now in process of erection; 
to our asylums, homes, and hospitals for chil- 
dren and for old men and women ; to the Public 
Library and Armory ; to our costly and attractive 
hotels and business houses ; to our great manu- 
facturing establishments ; to this grand structure 
in which we are gathered ; to the beautiful foun- 
tain on Fifth Street ; to forty miles of granite 
and asphalt streets, as fine as can be found in 
any city of the world ; to the Zoological Garden ; 
to a hundred palaces within ten miles of the 
Postoffice, which wealth and culture have pro- 
vided, and which are largely owned and occu- 
pied by members of this Chamber ; to the parks 
and lawns and gardens, and the tasteful homes 



66 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



of tens of thousands of prosperous and happy 
citizens on the heights which encircle the old 
city, and which are reached no longer on foot or 
horseback, by wagon or slow-moving omnibus, 
but b\' swift and smooth-gliding cable-cars, im- 
pelled by an unseen power, soon to be supple- 
mented or perhaps superseded when we shall 
have harnessed the lightnings and taught them at 
our bidding to do the work of rapid transit. No 
longer do we send to New Orleans our products 
on flatboats which could make but two trips 
a year, as in the first quarter of the century, 
or on steamboats of insignificant tonnage ; but 
the forests of pine and of oak which grew on 
the river's bank have taken on the form of mag- 
nificent floating palaces, luxurious for travelers 
and ample for commerce, whose hidden fires 
propel them up and down the beautiful river, 
out into the Father of Waters and southward to 
the Gulf. 

In 1846 the first railroad leading from Cincin- 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMKRCE. . 07 



nati — the Little Miami — was opened for travel, 
and in connection with the Mad River and Lake 
Erie, running from Dayton, by way of Springfield, 
to Sandusky, formed the first through line from 
the river to the lake. A second line was opened 
in 1 85 1 — the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and 
Little Miami. Then came in rapid succession the 
road from Pittsburgh to Cleveland, the Baltimore 
& Ohio in 1853, the Pennsylvania Railway in 
1854, and about the same time, or a little before, 
the Erie, the Hudson River, and the New York 
Central. 

It is difficult for us to realize that fifty years 
ago not a single railway connected Cincinnati with 
the rest of the State and country. Now we have 
twenty-three railroads centering here, and lead- 
ing with their branches and connections to the 
remotest parts of the country. Costly bridges, 
swung mid-air, span the Ohio River, .so beautiful 
and grand that travelers in the Old World would 
2fo hundreds of miles to see them; over these 



68 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 

the restless railway trains are passing night and 
dav, and every day in the year, bringing onr city 
into close communication and intimate social and 
business relations with our brethren of the South, 
toward whom the city of Cincinnati has attested 
its friendliness, and in whose development and 
prosperity it has expressed its confidence, by 
building at its own expense a railroad into the 
very heart of the Southern country at a cost of 
$20,000,000. 

To the railroads more than to any other outside 
agencv do the merchants and business men of 
Cincinnati owe their wonderful advancement and 
prosperity. Under the able and friendly manage- 
ment which now controls them we may hope for 
more rapid development of our trade and com- 
merce, for increased activity in all the departments 
of business, for the accumulation of wealth, and 
for the healthy and continuous growth of the 
city. They should be treated with great liberality, 
and every possible facility should be afforded them 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 69 



for the easy and convenient transaction of their 
bnsiness. 

Second only to the railroads as an agent of 
progress is the telegraph. In this day and genera- 
tion, when Ave can be informed every five minutes 
of what is taking place in New York or Washing- 
ton, in New Orleans or San Francisco — wdien the 
merchant on 'Change has only to look at the black- 
board to know the fluctuations in prices, the state 
of the money-market, and the quantity of every 
kind of merchandise in sight — we are apt to forget 
that half a century ago we were compelled to wait 
for tardy mails, carried by post-horses, and which 
brought us reports too late to be acted upon. 

Every morning our great metropolitan journals, 
conducted with ability and enterprise second to 
that of no other city in the world — I say it ad- 
visedly — tell us of w^hat is transpiring at the four 
quarters of the globe, from the overturning of a 
government or a foreign war to a murder in 
Whitechapel or the costumes of a fancy ball. 



70 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



Every important event in the civilized world may 
be known in Cincinnati within twenty-fonr honrs 
of its happening. 

Through the telephone we may whisper our 
messages of joy or sorrow and do the errands of 
daily life without leaving our offices or homes 
And soon, we are told, modern science and inven 
tion will record the words and tones of Gladstone 
as he speaks in the House of Commons, and the 
notes of Patti as she sings in the Grand Opera- 
house at Paris, to be sent us by express, and 
repeated, word and tone and note, for our satisfac- 
tion and delight, four thousand miles away. 

But recently has closed the great Cincinnati 
Centennial Exhibition, organized by the Chamber 
of Commerce, the Board of Trade, and the Ohio 
Mechanics' Institute, and conducted upon a gigan- 
tic scale, the expenses of which were guaranteed 
and largely paid by the voluntary contributions of 
our citizens ; in it were gathered the results of the 
industry, enterprise, and inventive genius which 



CINCINNATI CHAMKKR OF COMMKRCE. 71 



characterize the <j:eneration in which we live. 
Whoever was fortunate enough to see our city 
during: the hundred days of the exhibition, in all 
the glory of its flags and banners, luminous with 
blazing arches and electric lights, while the streets 
were a living mass of " fair women and brave 
men '' and the air was filled with music, might 
well exclaim, This is indeed 

"The Queen of the West, 
In her garlands dressed, 
On the banks of the beautiful river." 

[Applause.] 

But Cincinnati is only the metropolis of Ohio, 
conspicuously representing the growth and pros- 
perity of the State. 

As we attempt to realize that one hundred years 
ago Ohio was an unbroken wilderness, that within 
the forty thousand square miles of its territory there 
was not a railroad, telegraph-line, canal, city, town, 
or villa^'-e — save the little settlement at the numth 



72 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



of the Muskingiiin River, established in 1788 — 
not a tnrnpike or dirt road, not a church or 
school -house, or a roof to shelter civilized man, 
and then contemplate the Commonwealth as we 
see it to da)-, it all seems like a dream of the 
impossible. 

To the traveler whose good fortune it has been 
to stand in the streets of Rome and watch the 
busy laborers unearthing the palace of the Ctesars, 
or to ride along the street of Pompeii in the ruts 
made by chariot-wheels two thousand years ago, 
or to look upon the tombs and temples in the 
valle}- of the Nile built five thousand years before 
Christ was l^orn in Bethlehem, a hundred vears 
seems like a brief space of time. And )-et we 
may safely assert that more has been accomplished 
by our State for the advancement of civilization, 
for the elevation of the race and the welfare of 
mankind, in a single century than was ever 
achieved by any nation of antiquity in a thousand 
years of its history. [Applause.] 



CINXINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. IS 



Ohio is fortunately situated physically. Shut 
in b)- the great inland sea on the north and the 
river on the south, it seems to have been designed 
b^• Providence as the great higlnva)- along which 
the march of empire should be made from east to 
west, in accordance with an irresistible and inva- 
riable law. Unbroken by mountain-ranges, and 
with but few waste places, irrigated b)' abundant 
rivers, accessible to navigation by lake and river, 
with a soil of wonderful fertility, with beds of 
excellent coal underlying one fourth of its entire 
area, and vast quantities of iron ore stored up in 
its hills, its natural resources were calculated to 
attract and hold the great army of emigrants from 
the Old World and the eastern sections of the 
New on their way to find new homes in the 
unsettled and unoccupied West, where the heart 
grows large in sympathy with abundant harvests 
and the souls of men expand to fill the prairies. 

The early settlers were fortunately of that 
sturd\- New-England stock which succeeds whcr- 



74 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



ever it goes. They brought with them the 
preacher and the schoohnaster, and erected 
churches and school-houses before they built their 
barns ; and, moreover, they came to a land dedi- 
cated to freedom forever. 

With these natural advantages, and the com- 
bined energy, ingenuity, and thrift of all the 
nationalities which now compose our cosmopoli- 
tan population, has come the marvelous growth 
and prosperity which we witness to-day. 

I have no means of knowing definitely the 
present population of the State; but, judging from 
the vote of the last presidential election (841,941), 
it must approximate to and perhaps exceed four 
millions, or an average of one hundred inhabitants 
for every square mile of territory. 

At the close of the year 1887 there were within 
the limits of the State 9,570 miles of railroad, 
with a capital stock of $396,811,810, and built at 
a cost of $724,488,833. They transported during 
the year 27,402,552 passengers and 68,370,423 tons 



CIXCIXNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 



of freight. Wc have 60,963 miles of telej^raph- 
wire and 900 miles of canal. In 1879, ten years 
ago, the value of our agricultural products was 
$156,777,152, and it has largely increased in the 
last decade. The value of manufactures in 1880 
was $348,298,390, and if, as is undoubtedly the 
case, the ratio of increase has been as great since 
1880 as it was from 1870 to 1880, for the year 
1888 it must have been nearly or quite five hun- 
dred million dollars. Our coal-mines in 1887 
vielded 10,301,708 tons, and we produced in the 
same year 975,539 tons of iron and steel, or a 
little less than one seventh of the entire product 
of the United vStates. 

While we are no longer a purely agricultural 
people, but have taken our place among the fore- 
most of the great manufacturing States of the 
Union, yet the farms of Ohio, if brought to the 
highest degree of cultivation possible, are capable 
of doubling and perhaps trebling the agricultural 
resources of the State. When the multiplication 



76 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



and growth of our manufacturing towns and cities 
shall demand and make it necessary, the loose and 
careless habits of husbandry which now prevail 
will disappear, and scientific cultivation of the 
land will make our fields and orchards and pas- 
tures like those of France to-day, which are a 
succession of gardens from the English Channel 
down to the ^Mediterranean Sea. 

Who can limit the possibilities of the State 
Avhen contemplating our natural resources ! It 
has been ascertained by geologists that we have 
coal-beds underlying thirty -three of our eighty- 
eight counties, covering ten thousand square 
miles of territory, and the quantity of coal thus 
awaiting the uses of the future is estimated at 
62,900,000,000 tons, after making due allowance 
for waste and contingencies. So it will be seen 
that at the present rate of mining — 10,000,000 
tons per year — our 62,900,000,000 tons will last 
for a considerable time. I do not know that the 
quantity of iron ore treasured up in our hills has 



ciNXixxATi chambp:r of commerce. 77 



ever been estimated, but we have vast and ricli 
deposits, ample for all the requirements of cen- 
turies to come. We have penetrated the surface 
of the earth, and have brought up from the labo- 
ratories of God below oil and gas to furnish light 
and heat and power to move the world's machin- 
ery. How much remains, or how fast it is being 
manufactured, is one of the mysteries we have 
not solved. 

While fifty }'ears ago there was not a town or 
city outside of Cincinnati with seven thousand 
inhabitants, we now have the beautiful city of 
Cleveland (pressing hard upon the footsteps of 
Cincinnati), Columbus, Toledo, Sandusky, Akron, 
Uayton, Springfield, Canton, Massillon, Alliance, 
Youngstown, Steubenville, Portsmouth, and a score 
of other populous, enterprising, growing cities, 
which seem to have sprung out of the ground 
as at the touch of a magician's wand. Above all, 
we have an intelligent, orderly, law-abiding popu- 
lation, with school - houses for the mind and 



78 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



churches for the soul, and uia^i^nificent charitable 
and benevolent institutions for the poor and un- 
fortunate. [x\pplause.] 

Prior to 1840 Ohio had never been a polit- 
ical power in the land ; but with the election of 
Gen. William Henry Harrison as President of the 
United States commenced her career of influence 
and distinction. Since and including that time 
she has given to the country five presidents 
(including the president-elect), two chief-justices 
of the Supreme Court, I know not how many 
associate justices, cabinet ministers, diplomatic 
and consular agents, besides furnishing a dozen 
other States with senators, representatives, 'and 
governors. During the war of the rebellion she 
gave to the army and the country Grant, Sherman, 
Sheridan, McPherson, Rosecrans, and a hundred 
other solders onh- less distinguished [applause] ; 
she furnished to the Cabinet the great War Secre- 
tary Stanton, and to the Treasury Department 
Salmon P. Chase, the father of the best monetar)- 

« 



CI^•CI^•NAT1 CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 79 



system in the ^vorld. The roll of her distinguished 
orators and statesmen includes Ewing, Corwin, 
Stanbery, Brougli, Sherman, Allen, Wade, Groes- 
beck, Taft, Cox, Thurman, Hoadly, (biddings, 
Dennison, Pendleton, and Pugh, and many more 
that might appropriately be named ; while her 
citizens now in active public life are among the 
ablest and most influential in the land. [Ap- 
plause.] 

Gentlemen of the Chamber of Commerce, we 
have a right to be proud of our city and State, of 
our material prosperity and growth, of the char- 
acter of our people and the rank which Ohio has 
achieved in the sisterhood of the Union. May the 
future be as glorious as the past has been honor- 
able and successful. 

But no address on an occasion like this, and to 
a prominent bod)' of business men, would be 
adequate or excusable which did not take into 
account the broader interests of our common 
countr\-, in which the heart of ever\- patriotic 



80 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



American citizen rejoices, and in the promotion 
of which we take a pride and satisfaction above 
all local considerations. 

The Almighty seems to have reserved this vast 
empire, through all the centuries and ages, as the 
last to be occupied and enriched, and in which 
Christian civilization should find its most perfect 
development, and personal and political liberty 
their best illustration. 

We have to-day a population of sixty million 
souls, which, in addition to the natural increase 
of our own people, is being constantly and largely 
augmented by the tides of foreign immigration 
pouring inland from the shore of the ocean, and 
which, re-enforced by other human tides from the 
eastern section of the country, are scattering over 
plantation and prairie and farm, or flowing along 
the lines of the great transcontinental railwa)'s, 
until the advanced waves have reached the far-off 
Pacific Slope, where the mountains are silver and 
the hills are gold, and where the waters of the 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 81 



peaceful sea lave gently the shore of a land which 
nature, with unparalleled prodigality, has blessed 
with health-giving air, and a soil so fertile that its 
orchards and vineyards and fields of grain suggest 
another Garden of Eden, in which, without the 
labor of man, all things needful have spontaneous 
growth. 

And what have these sixty million American 
citizens accomplished? According to the United 
States Census, the value of our manufactures in 
1880 was $5,369,579,191, and in 1888, according 
to the ratio of increase for the preceding decade, 
must have been approximately $6,500,000,000. 
The agricultural product of the country in 1879 
was $2,212,540,927, and in 1888 probably not less 
than $3,000,000,000. The total number of tons 
of iron and steel produced in the United States in 
1887 was 7,187,206, and of coal probably not less 
than sixty million tons. Of precious metals we 
produced more than one half of all the world's 
supply, while the yield of petroleum was in 1880, 



82 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 

it is stated, 800,000,000 gallons. While )'et in the 
infancy of the countn-, we have far ontstripped 
Great Britain in the valne of onr mannfactures, 
and the inventive genius of onr countrymen stands 
unparalleled and unapproached by that of any 
other nation on earth. [Applause.] 

At the close of the year 1887 we had in the 
United States 149,912 miles of railroad — enough 
to put six tracks around the world — with a capital 
stock of $4,191,562,029, and built at a cost of 
$7,779,471,835, or double the direct cost of our 
terrible civil war. These railroads transported 
428,225,513 passengers and 552,074,752 tons of 
freight in the year 1887. The value of our im- 
ports for the year 1887 was $708,807,000, and of 
our exports $715,321,000. The Western Union 
Telegraph Company in 1887 had 156,814 miles 
of poles and cables, 524,641 miles of wire, and a 
capital stock of $81,199,852. The value of the 
real and personal property of the United States 
exceeds $50,000,000,000. 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF C0:MMERCE. 83 



These figures are startling, but ser\-e to give 
some idea of the industrial development and pros- 
perity of the country. And yet onh- a small pro- 
portion of our territory is already occupied. The 
census of 1880 informs us that we have in all, ex- 
clusive of Alaska, 2,970,000 square miles, of which 
Ohio constitutes but one seventy-fourth part. 

I find in a wonderfully- interesting little book, 
written by the Rev. Dr. Josiah Strong, entitled 
^' Our Country " — which ought to be read by every 
American citizen, and to which I am indebted for 
some of the figures employed in this address — 
the following comparative statement : " What, 
then, should we say of a Republic of eighteen 
States, each as large as Spain ; or one of thirty-one 
States, each as large as Italy; or one of sixty 
States, each as large as England and Wales? 
What a confederation of nations! Take five of the 
six first-class Powers of Europe — Great Britain 
and Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, and Italy; 
then add vSpain, Portugal, Switzerland, Denmark, 



84 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



and Greece ; let some greater than Napoleon 
weld them into one mighty empire, and yon 
could lay it all down in the United States west 
of the Hudson River, once, and again, and again — 
three times." 

The same author estimates, from what seems 
to be reasonable and reliable data, that our terri- 
tory is capable of sustaining a population of a 
thousand million of inhabitants, without being as 
densely crowded as are some of the countries of 
Europe to-day. 

What, then, of the future ? The imagination 
grows weary in attempting to picture what we 
shall be a century hence. England has conquered 
empires and acquired the islands of the sea, and 
has her possessions scattered at intervals all around 
the globe; she has ruled the sea and has largely 
controlled the commerce and the money-markets 
of the world. But her scepter is departing, and 
she must give place to the latest born of the 
nations. 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 85 



The Prince of Wales said to me, at the Elysees 
Palace, in Paris, in 1878, "England has reached 
the zenith of her prosperity and glory, while 
America is the great country of the future." And 
Mr. Gladstone, the greatest of English statesmen, 
confirms the judgment of the future king and 
emperor. [Applause.] 

There are no new worlds for us to conquer, but 
our grandeur and glory must be achieved on the 
land we possess between the two oceans. For- 
tunately we have no conflicting civilizations, but 
all men are free and equal under the law. That 
fair section of our country over which the institu- 
tion of slavery once cast its blight is awakening 
to new life as from a dreamless sleep, invigorated, 
refreshed, and hopeful of the future. Beneath 
the touch of intelligent free labor the worn-out 
plantations of the South will become fertile and 
productive as are the rich prairies of the West : 
her hills will yield up their inexhaustible supplies 
of iron and coal to the furnaces and rollino--mills 



86 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



built upon her soil; cotton-factories will be erected 
upon the plantations where cotton is produced ; 
the water-power of her great rivers will whirl the 
machinery of happy and prosperous cities, the 
busy hum of whose multiform industries shall be 
the music to which advancing civilization moves 
upon its onward march; capital and skilled labor 
will flow in upon the South to enrich her people^ 
and make them prosperous and happy; education, 
widely diffused among the masses, will insure 
peace and good order and wise administration of 
affairs. In all of which the whole country will 
rejoice, because this prosperity is but a part of the 
common good. [Applause.] 

And what of the Great West which lies be- 
tween us and the Pacific Ocean ? The center of 
population of the United States is now at or near 
Cincinnati. Where will it be a hundred years 
hence, or when we shall have a population of two 
hundred and fifty or five hundred million — when 
the great States and Territories beyond the Mis- 



CINXIXXATI CHAMBER OF COMMKRCK. 87 



sissippi River shall be as densely populated as 
are Pennsylvania, New York, and New England 
to-day? It will have moved onward toward the 
setting sun along with the great armies of civiliza- 
tion, which, under orders that can not be revoked, 
are marching ever westward. The seat of empire, 
the political power of the Republic, at no distant 
day will be beyond the great river. 

So vast is our territory in extent, so diversified 
in soil and climate, so different in adaptation to 
the various industries and productions are far 
distant localities, that of necessity the interstate 
commerce of the country will a bunded years from 
now be limited only by the capacity for transpor- 
tation. We can raise or make within the limits 
of our own domain almost every thing necessary 
for the convenience and comfort of mankind ; we 
are practically independent of all other nations. 

But the ambition of America will never be 
satisfied with the development of our own internal 
resources, immense as thev are and marvelous as 



b» DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 

they will be. The great world, with its fourteen or 
fifteen hundred million inhabitants, lies beyond, 
with its markets and its products for exchange. 
A thousand million human beings are yet without 
the blessings of civilization, and consequently 
have few wants to be supplied ; but the time will 
come when commerce will follow the missionary, 
or become itself a missionar)' to emancipate from 
despotism and barbarism the hordes of the far 
East. Already the gates of exclusion are being 
unbarred by the Chinese Government ; India is 
occupied and controlled by England; Japan is 
adopting European customs and laws ; North 
Africa is partially colonized and governed by the 
English and the French ; while somewhere in the 
heart of the Dark Continent Henry M. Stanley, 
the apostle of liberty, the forerunner and advance 
ageiit of civilization, is blazing the way along 
which the world's commerce shall some time 
go. [x\pplause.] 

Shall America, with all her wealth, intelligence 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 89 



enterprise, and power, have no part in elevating to 
the dignity of manhood the ignorant and degraded 
millions of the Orient ? It wonld be contrary to 
the genius of her people and in the face of the 
history of the Anglo-Saxon race. 

The future markets of the world, as yet un- 
opened and unsupplied, will be appropriated by 
the nations most enterprising in reaching and 
most competent to furnish them. The highways 
of the sea are common property, and there is no 
commercial agent so effective as a steamship laden 
with needed supplies. 

In a voyage of eight thousand miles, which I 
made around the Mediterranean Sea in 1879, ^ 
saw the American flag but three times — once 
floating at the mast-head of the flag -ship of our 
Mediterranean Squadron in the harbor at Ville- 
franche ; again on one of the same war-vessels 
off the coast of Palestine ; and the third time at 
Alexandria, raised by Captain Gorringe over the 
obelisk now standiu": in Central Park, New York. 



90 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 

In the harbors of the Piraeus, at Constantinople, 
Rhodes, Cyprus, Smyrna, Beirut, Jafifa, Alexandria, 
Port Said, Malta, Tunis, Algiers, Malaga, and 
Gibraltar were the flags and vessels of all other 
nations, but American shipping and the American 
flag were conspiciious for their absence. I confess 
I felt a sense of loneliness and humiliation. 

And yet there are forty-seven millions of the 
subjects of the Sultan, inhabiting the countries 
bordering on the Mediterranean vSea, all friendly 
to the United States and anxious for commercial 
intercourse with us, for the reason that we have 
never sent war- ships to bombard their towns, 
armies to overthrow their governments, tax- 
gatherers to oppress their people, or insolent and 
arbitrary officials to rule over them. They know 
us only through the inoffensive missionaries and 
teachers whom we have sent to do them good. 
All round that extended sea-coast the markets are 
already open, and we could successfully compete 
with England or any other country in supplying 



CIXCIXXATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 91 



them, if we would only adapt our wares to the 
taste, customs, and wants of the people, and send 
them, at regular and stated intervals, in our own 
vessels, under our own flag, and to agencies estab- 
lished and maintained in the interest of American 
merchants and manufacturers. It would be neces- 
sary at first to subsidize steamships, as all other 
nations, and notabh- England, ha\'e done, but they 
would soon be self-supporting. Grand opportu- 
nities in this region await American enterprise. 
[Applause.] 

South America lies at our very door, and legiti- 
mately belongs to us as a market for our products 
and a field for exchange; and yet we have allowed 
other countries to appropriate a large share of the 
trade of the South American States. Shall it be 
always so, or shall we reclaim our own ? 

The logic of what I have said points irresisti- 
bly to a merchant marine ample for all the pur- 
poses of American commerce, and to be increased 
as the necessities of trade require. We have been 



92 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



shamefully prodigal in the destruction of our 
forests, but enough timber remains for all the 
necessities of ship-building ; of iron and steel we 
have no lack ; we have accomplished architects 
and engineers, and skilled ship-carpenters ; we 
have brave and hardy sailors to man the ships we 
build, and riches beyond any other country in the 
world to supply the means. [Applause.] 

But whenever our foreign commerce shall have 
assumed important dimensions, and our merchant 
marine is adequate for its accommodation, it 
should be protected by an American navy com- 
mensurate with the power and wealth and interests 
of our might}' Nation. Our war-vessels should 
go down to the farthest seas, and the stars and 
stripes should be unfurled wherever floats the flag 
of any other nation under the whole heaven. 
Every American citizen, whether traveling by 
land or sea, and in whatever quarter of the globe, 
should feel secure in person and in property, in 
the Dresence of the American flag and under the 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 



93 



guns of the American navy. Thns shall we assert 
the dignity and power and glory of the Great 
Republic, and extend the influence of free insti- 
tutions everywhere. 

And a powerful navy should be supplemented 
with coast -defenses ample for the security of the 
seaboard. It is estimated that the financial value 
of the towns and cities scattered round our ex- 
tended sea-coast and along the shore of the great 
lakes is not less than five thousand million dollars. 
And yet this vast wealth is at the mercy of any one 
of the smaller naval powers of the earth which 
may be, or may feel itself to be, aggrieved. 

It would be strange, indeed, if, in all the years 
to come, differences should not arise between our 
Government and other nations. While we have 
established a precedent for settling all interna- 
tional disputes by arbitration, there may come a 
time when peaceful solution will be impossible. 
If we would preserve peace, we should always be 
in a condition for defense, and prepared to resent 



94 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



an insult or resist a wrong. Fortunately we have 
no immediate neighbors powerful enough to men- 
ace our safety, and hence we need no standing 
ami)- of any considerable magnitude. If an army 
should at an>' time be required, we could impro- 
vise one in a week, and arm and equip it in a 
month; but to build a navy and construct coast - 
fortifications requires time, skill, and vast sums 
of money. 

And we are in a most fortunate condition for 
prosecuting these important enterprises. While 
the ingenuity of foreign financiers and the wis- 
dom of European cabinets and statesmen are 
being taxed to the uttermost to devise means for 
raising revenue necessar}' to defray the current 
expenses of their governments ; while their 
national debts, now enormous, are constantly 
increasing; while the prodiictive energies of their 
populations are being sapped by the withdrawal 
from peaceful vocations of millions of young men, 
in the prime of life, to constitute great standing 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 95 



armies, rendered necessary by the political situa- 
tion and by the jealousy and conflicting interests 
of rulers — we are at peace among- ourselves and 
with all the world, ha\'e only a small and rapidh-- 
decreasing debt, while our only financial em- 
barrassment is to know how to dispose of the 
constantly - accumulating surplus in the public 
treasury- . 

And now, gentlemen of the Chamber of Com- 
merce, proud of the past achievements of our 
countr\-, rejoicing in its present happiness and 
prosperit}-, confident of the future — we see the 
bow of promise spanning the broad continent for 
us, and under its glory-tinted arch the unnum- 
bered millions of our own descendants, re-enforced 
b)- other millions who shall come to us from 
beyond the sea — all vying with each other in 
prosecuting the arts of peace, developing the 
resources, multiplying the wealth, increasing the 
knowledge, and exalting the virtue of the Nation, 
while the)- labor to extend the blessings of Chris- 



96 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



tian civilization to the dark and benighted regions 
of the world. So shall we bnild np and perpet- 
nate the grandest, richest, happiest, and most 
powerful government on earth, consecrated to 
religious freedom and to personal and political 
liberty forever. [Great applause.] 



CIXCIXXATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 97 



WELCOME BY THE MAYOR. 

At the conclusion of the oration of General 
Noyes the band played "America," after which 
President Morrison introduced his Honor, Amor 
Smith, Jr., ^layor of Cincinnati, who was received 
with applause, and said : . 

Mr. President : 

The welcome to our guests to-day in its affec- 
tion is as immeasurable as is unlimited the merit 
of the cause to which this splendid edifice is dedi- 
cated. All Cincinnatians at this time join in a 
feeling of conscious pride to know that in this 
moment of her exultation our city is honored by 
the presence of trusted delegates from near and 
afar, who herald the well-wishes of the great com- 
mercial centers of our country, and come laden 
with kind greetings and wealth of congratula- 



98 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



tions at our happiness, rejoicing in our prosperity, 
uniting in our cheers of success, until from out 
this hall there reverberates throughout the land in 
one blessed unity the joyous tidings that another 
triumph of the industry of man has been achieved; 
that peace has won another victory ; and that the 
commerce of the nineteenth century has founded 
another monument through which shall be read 
the marvelous tales of the wealth of our Nation, 
the handicraft of its workmen, and the magnifi- 
cence of its architecture. The marts of commerce 
dot the ebbs and flows of civilization in the world's 
historv, and teach us nations' weals and woes, and 
mark their peoples' virtues or their vice. Decay 
is but the semblance of viciousness, and prosperity 
the likeness of excellence and perfection. As we 
turn back over the pages of history and read the 
stories of the glories of the past, and map the 
marts which tell of nations that are but mockeries 
of their former greatness, then we know the dead 
past can not give up its dead — they can lia\'e no 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 99 



representative here. The present with its divine 
endowments, its wealth of wonderments — the 
present that walks with the li\int;', and breathes 
the glories of art, science, and literatnre — its 
representatives are with us now, and typify, by 
the chambers of commerce and boards of trade 
thev come from, the excellence, perfection, and 
prosperity of a virtuous and happy nation. 

I welcome these distinguished guests to Cin- 
cinnati in the name of my fellow-citizens whose 
institutions vary only as the attachment of their 
authors found inclination to build ; yet all builded 
in the full light of the advanced culture, refine- 
ment, and enlightenment in which they live. 
Literature abides with us and among us ; Science 
has its devotees ; Art, that plies its cunning with 
dexterous skill, makes masters here whose philoso- 
phv is as boundless as the institutions they have 
given us are limitless in their good. 

Churches and ministers, public schools and 
teachers, colleges and faculties, our jniblic and 



100 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



private benevolences, our manufactories and 
workingmen, our public buildings, our mercan- 
tile houses and our homes, all stand to attest a 
successful people who appreciate the great honor 
you have conferred upon them in your coming, 

I bid you welcome to Cincinnati's Music Hall, 
her University, her Art Museum, her Art School, 
her Davidson Fountain, her College of Music, and 
trust the names of the sainted dead and noble 
living that are ineffaceabl'e in association with 
their generous gifts may go with you to your 
homes, and become synonyms of probity and 
philanthropy to be held sacred forever. 

I welcome you, gentlemen, graciously and 
heartily to this presence of Cincinnati merchants, 
whose walk of life in all its vicissitudes can be in 
many phases but the counterpart of your own: 
we come upon the floor a stripling, with timid air, 
awed by the presence and mien of the confident 
man of affairs; we wear his shadow as a guide, 
and look beyond without a hope of ever reaching 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 101 



the gray -haired sage whose sagacious judgment 
startles our incredulity and baffles all our endeav- 
ors; yet, withal, we banter time and make the 
shadow; we see the stripling come and the sage 
depart; we buffet the current and stem the tide; 
and in the battle of life we find ourselves grateful 
for this school of experience, the teachings of the 
sage, and the associations of our fellow -members. 

I welcome you to the high standard attained 
by the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce in the 
commercial world, and to this beautiful build- 
ing, which is emblematical of the membership's 
energy, fidelity, and integrity. 

Delegates of the Chambers of Commerce and 
Boards of Trade of the United States, the freedom 
of the city is tendered you. I bid you a hearty 
welcome. [Applause.] 



102 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



CONGRATULATIONS. 



NEW YORK 



The ^Ia\'or having conchided, President ^lor- 
rison said: 

Gciitlcmoi: We now desire to have the pleasure 
of hearing from our visiting delegates from sister 
organizations. It is to be regretted time will not 
permit us to hear from each delegation; but we 
shall endeavor to so arrange that each section of 
the country shall have an opportunity to be heard 
from. First in order is New York, the Empire 
State, and her chief city, the financial and com- 
mercial metropolis of the country, and our chief 
seaport, the gateway of Europe, magnificent in 
all her undertakings, solid as the rock on which 
her foundations are laid. I have the pleasure of 
introducing Mr. S. T. Hubbard, Jr., of New York. 



CIXCIXXATI CHAMBKR OF COMMERCE. 108 

]Mr. Hubbard received a cordial ,u,reetiii<2,', and 
said : 

Mr. Prcsidiiil and Cciillotuii of Ihc C/ianihcr of 
ConiDicrcc : On l^ehalf of the New York Cotton 
Exchanoe, I have the honor to present tlieir sin- 
cere conoratnlations on this auspicious occasion. 
As I have sat here listeuiui>; to the eloquent re- 
marks of the o-entlenien who have preceded uie, 
my thoucrhts have run back to the formation of the 
Chamber, and in it we recognize the indomitable 
pluck of the men who rose above the wrecks of 
the panic of i<S37 and formed such an organiza- 
tion as this for the good of their fellow-merchants 
and the cit)" of Cincinnati. [Applause.] 

During the fift\' \ears that ha\-e elapsed since 
the organization of this Chamber the merchants 
have gone forward^ ne\-er backward, until on this 
golden wedding-day we witness the result of the 
union in this building, this monument to their 
enterprise, thrift, and commercial ])ros])erit\'. In 
this nol)le building, this magnificent apartment, 



104 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



the harmonious plan of the architect, the decora- 
tions, every thing recalls the benefactions of Pro- 
basco, Longworth, West, and Springer. [Cheers.] 
Cincinnati was the birth-place of such men, and 
that art movement which makes our buildings 
monuments of artistic conception and skill in 
construction, and our homes palaces of comfort 
and convenience and art. [Applause.] In the 
words of Washington Irving and his Knicker- 
bocker friend, "May you all live long and be pros- 
perous." [Applause.] 

THE CITY OF THE EAKE 

President Morri.son then introduced Mr. E. 
Nelson Blake, of the Board of Trade of the city 
of Chicago, who was greeted with applause, and 
responded to the sentiment, " Chicago, the great 
and beautiful city of the lake, the gateway of the 
Northwest, the trading center of the world," as 
follows : 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 10^ 



Mr. President and Gentlemen : As I listened to 
the eloquent orator in his j^rand eulogium on Ohio 
I felt a regret that I was a guest — that I was not 
a citizen of this city, a member of this Chamber, 
and a citizen of this State — and I can now see 
whence came that expression that I used to hear 
when a boy, "Some men are born great, others 
achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust 
upon them, but some men are born in Ohio." 
[Laughter.] 

I deem myself highly favored to be called upon 
to respond for my comrades, for our Board of 
Trade, and for our city on this memorable occasion 
and in this distinguished presence; for modest 
as we are, sir, we are still able to say with an- 
other who was a stranger from his home, "I am 
a citizen of no obscure city." And I was pleased 
last evening when a good lady of your body, 
at the reception, said to me, "There is one 
thing I admire in you Chicago people; you are 
all proud of your cit\'." Permit me, therefore, 



106 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



to briiio- to you oiir wannest conoratnlation from 
the body we represent and from the town in 
which we live. 

The history and present condition of yonr 
body, as represented here to-day, is a matter of 
worthy pride for you to indul^-e and cherish. You 
represent and embody the best elements of your 
bu.siness community. [Applause.] Boards of trade 
collect statistical information, beneficial alike to 
producer and consumer, and through their mem- 
bers it is widely disseminated throughout the land, 
informing the producer of the value of his pro- 
duce, and the manufacturer of the cost of his raw 
material, and the consumer of the price of his 
food. That an improper use is sometimes made 
of these Exchanges is no more to their discredit 
than is an unprofessional practitioner to the reg- 
ular medical fraternit)', than are sln'sters to the 
legal brotherhood, or than are dishonest traders 
to the great mass of upright merchants. T^iese 
floors all over our land are the great market- 



CINXINNATI CHAMBER OK COM.MHRCP:. 107 



places where bnver and seller meet for purchase 
and bargain. 

In the popular outburst against trusts, unions, 
and combinations there is a measure of prejudice 
against institutions like this; but mo\-ed by the 
spirit of song, which has but just echoed around 
these walls — here 

" May honor find a dwelling-place; 
May justice reign; may truth abide: 
May right prevail and wisdom guide " — 

no just complaint will e\-er be made against you. 
[Cheers.] It may seem most presumptuous for a 
younger sister to dare to advise her elder, but our 
excuse must be the love we bear vou; and, while 
we are not jealous of ^•ou, we do env>' \ou some 
of your ])osscssions — such as \our Art Museum, 
your magnificent Springer donation, and your 
Public Library. A monarch can found a Tiberias, 
an Alexandria, or a Ctesarea, and with the support 
of his kingdo:n can turn travel and commerce in 



108 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



that direction; but in a country like ours each 
city or town must depend upon its location and 
natural advantages to draw to itself enterprising 
business men. [Cheers.] There is a " survival 
of the fittest " in the career of cities as well as 
of individuals, and every city can be great just in 
proportion as it has a great country tributary and 
contributory to it. Sitting in her unrivaled posi- 
tion in our country, New York must be the great 
seaport of our Nation, and other points have nat- 
ural positions of strength that can not be wrested 
from them if their people are alive to their oppor- 
tunity. Your city, on one of the great rivers o 1 
the continent, surrounded by a rich, fertile country 
on every side, must be one of the great cities of 
the Nation If your merchants and business men 
are alive to yo\ir best interests. And this temple 
of trade to-day dedicated by you is one of the 
signs of your growth and advance in business, an 
indication of your increasing needs. Beautiful 
without, elegant within, one more architectural 



CIN'CINXATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 109 



monument to the skill of him who designed it and 
the taste of you who built it. "Slay its beauty of 
structure be never marred b>- human selfishness 
or cruel injustice upon this floor. [Applause.] 

THE SOUTHWEST 

President ^Morrison then said: "The South- 
west, the counterpart of the Northwest in every 
thing that goes to make her people prosperous 
and happy — her countless herds, her boimdless 
prairies, her magnificent cities, the rapidity of her 
development — is the wonder of the world. I 
have pleasure in introducing the Hon. George W. 
Clement, of Wichita, Kansas." 

Mr. Clement responded as follows: 

Mr. President : I think myself most fortunate 
to be here this day and to have the opportunity to 
speak a word for the Southwest. I am aware that 
if I go into all the details and fully present my 
subject, I would have a larger job on hand than 



110 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



you would care to have uie complete at this time. 
I desire, however, first in my remarks to tender 
the thanks of the Board — the organization which 
I represent — for the kindly consideration of this 
Chamber that prompted them to send an invi- 
tation to a body so youno^ and so remote to be 
present on this auspicious and most important 
occasion in the history of this great citv. 

Mr. (t. L. Rouse, the gentleman with me here, 
and I represent probably the youngest financial 
organization represented here to-day — perhaps 
the youngest city, and nearly the youngest State. 
Kansas celebrated her twent\' - eighth birthda\' 
yesterday, I believe. [Applause.] Twenty-eight 
years ago she came into the Union with a popu- 
lation of less than 200,000 people. To-day she 
has more than 1,600,000 live, energetic, pushing, 
vigorous people [applause], a very large proportion 
of whom came from this grand old State of Ohio. 
[Applause.] I am proud, gentlemen, to-da\- to 
sav that twcutv-eight of the best vears of m\- life 



CIXCIXXATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. Ill 



were spent upon yonder lake -shore adjoining the 
beautiful city sitting so majestically by the side 
of the lake. 

I started, I believe, from the same rock\- State 
as the eloquent gentlemen [Oeneral Noyes] who 
has so magnificently addressed you to day — a gen- 
tleman who so ably represented this (Tovernment 
at the Court of France. *Xot only did he do honor 
to himself and his Nation abroad, but he stood 
here to-day on one leg, having left the other 
before Atlanta in celebrating the Fourth of July 
there years ago [laughter and applause], when 
there was a little difficulty between the North and 
the South. 

Mr. President, allow me to express to you and 
to the gentlemen here the appreciation in which 
we hold this city of Cincinnati. Situated as we 
are, eight hundred and fifty miles from you to the 
southwest, we (Wichita) hold the key of the 
great Southwest. It is a magnificent countr\-, our 
Southwest. It is a couutrv the future of which is 



112 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



scarcely within the reach of man's comprehension. 
[Applause.] It is impossible to estimate the posi- 
tion th^t Wichita may reach in the great South- 
west of the future. [Applause.] It has been truly 
said to-day that the growth and greatness of a 
city depend on the tributary and contributory 
country about it. That being true, the territory 
which surrounds the beautiful city of Wichita 
[laughter and applause] makes it the great city 
and metropolis of the Southwest. 

In less than two years, gentlemen, you will 
write on yonder blackboard of quotations Wichita. 
In less than ten years you will place at the head 
of the list Wichita, and it will then read Wichita, 
Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati [laughter], instead 
of, as I see it now, "Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati," 
Yes, we mean it, and we have the tools to do it 
with, too. [Applause.] All through that great 
territory, "the corn -belt," the hogs are scrambling 
to reach the borders of civilization — Wichita 
[applause] — to offer up their lives as a sacrifice 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 113 



to the great commercial industries already estab- 
lished there. [Laughter.] 

With }-our possibilities you are creating an 
amount of force and energy, an accumulation of 
capital here, that can not possibly find room for 
action in the future. There will be a surplus. It 
must go somewhere. We invite you to Wichita 
[applause and laughter], and there you will find 
room in the vast sweep of prairie of which Wichita 
is the center for your energies and accumulations 
of capital. [Applause.] 

This is a magnificent building which we are in 
to-day. It will resist the action of time. For 
your invitation to be here to-day we thank you 
cordially. The city of Washington is called the 
"City of ^lagnificent Distances"; Cincinnati is the 
city of magnificent acts. [Applause.] Such has 
been your history. You ha\'e reached that degree 
of supremacy in the financial world to-day which 
will permit you to be, as you are, magnanimous. 
[Ap])lause.] No spirit of jealousy need ever 



114 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



pervade yoiir mind. [Laughter.] No city in the 
land can wrest from you the hold you now have 
on the financial interests of this vast territory 
round about here — a territory to which you alone 
hold the keys. 

I thank you, gentlemen, for your kindness and 
appreciation, and we want you all to come out and 
see our broad prairies; to witness the degree of 
energy we have acquired from this State; and it 
will give us pleasure to treat >-ou as generously and 
courteously as you have treated us. [Applause.] 

THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY 

President Morrison then said: "The Mississippi 
Valley, rich and luxuriant beyond compare; the 
wealth of its soil inexhaustible; its people among 
the bravest, who have conquered the effects of war 
and pestilence, and are to-day in the forefront of 
prosperity and progress. I have the pleasure of 
introducing Mr. E. A. Keeling, of :\Iemphis." 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 115 



When the applause with which Mr. Keeling 
was greeted had subsided he spoke as follows: 

J/r. President and Gentlemen: To be called 
upon to address such a large and representative- 
assemblage is an honor which I duly appreciate^ 
and while I do not expect to entertain you with 
any brilliant remarks, I will at least endeavor to 
make some response to your kind invitation. I 
see before me gentlemen representing every line 
of trade and avenue of business, which is an evi- 
dence of your progressiveness, of your enterprise ; 
that you have a correct sense of the value and 
importance of co-operation; and is to my mind a 
solution of why Cincinnati has taken her place 
as one of the great trade -centers of this country. 
The occasion of this celebration must be a matter 
of pride to the merchants of this city, and this 
magnificent structure, so long as it rests upon its 
foundation, will be a monument commemorating 
their thrift and successful efforts in promoting the 
commerce of the Oueen Citv of the West. 



116 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



The past history of the world abounds in 
instances of the struggle of commerce to estab- 
lish conditions of security and to open up commu- 
nication with distant countries. From the time 
Abraham paid four hundred shekels of silver for 
the field of Ephron down to the present time the 
tendency of commerce has been to connect trade- 
centers, to invade and develop new territory, to 
furnish modes of transportation through the same, 
to promote and encourage new industries, and 
to increase the production and distribution of 
commodities. That little could be accomplished 
by individual effort needs no argument from me, 
but by the organization and consolidation of busi- 
ness energy and brains commercial exchanges 
have been established throughout the world, upon 
whom have devolved the great work to which I 
have just referred. The Cincinnati Chamber of 
Commerce was organized for the purposes named. 
That it has achieved all that was expected of it is 
attested bv the magnitude of business transacted, 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 117 



and the present standing of your city as a trade, 
railroad, and manufacturing center. 

Now that so much has been accomplished, and 
your claim for commercial supremacy has been so 
firmly established, what necessity is there for con- 
tinuing this institution ? Simply that you may 
retain and protect that for which you have labored 
so long and earnestly. Rival cities are around 
you, watching with jealous eyes, ready to take any 
fair advantage to grasp from you the trade of your 
city. Your Chamber of Commerce stands as a 
faithful sentinel, watchful and alert, protecting 
your interests, and ready to avenge any invasion 
or usurpation of yoiir rights. For this reason 
it commands your co-operation, and as a matter 
of self- protection makes it your duty as well as 
pleasure to sustain and perpetuate its institutions. 
I congratulate you on its successes, and picture for 
it grander results and more brilliant achievements 
for the future. 

Now that I have conirratulated vou on its sue- 



118 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



cesses, I desire, in a few brief words, to give you 
warning, and to tell you of a city that is destined 
to become a formidable competitor for at least a 
portion of your trade. On the extreme western 
borders of Tennessee there stands a city rich in 
resources and promises for future greatness. From 
its confines, reaching out like spokes from the 
hub of a wheel, there are ten completed lines 
of railways traversing the finest mineral and agri- 
cultural country on this continent. A large part 
of the products of the grain - fields and packing- 
houses of the Northwest pass through her gates 
and pay tribute to the enterprise of her merchants. 
Alabama, Tennessee, and Arkansas empty into 
her lap the wealth of their coal- and iron -fields. 
At her very doors are inexhaustible forests of 
timber in every variety, while seven hundred 
thousand bales of cotton help annually to increase 
her trade and add to her commercial greatness. 
At her feet flows the great "Father of Waters," on 
whose bosom floats millions of dollars' worth of 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 119 



supplies sent out from her warehouses to feed and 
clothe the multitude of people who inhabit the 
Lower Mississippi Valley. New industries are 
being started and old ones are constantly enlarging 
their capacities, and yet there is room for more. 
Her destiny is in the hands of business men 
awake to the necessities of the day and alive to 
the reqiiirements and needs that go to make up 
a great city: full of public spirit, always ready 
to welcome new capital, brains, and energy, and 
willing to share with them the results and rewards 
of their labors. Such is the city of Memphis, and 
through me, their humble representative, they 
extend to you a hearty invitation to visit them 
and see the li^•est cit\- in the great South. I thank 
3'ou, gentlemen, for your attention. [Applause.] 



120 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



THE CENTRAL SOUTH 



President Morrison then annonnced the follow- 
ing sentiment: "The Central South, representa- 
tive cities of which are Chattanooga, Atlanta, 
Birmingham, and Augusta: their great factories 
rivaling and vying with those of the North; her 
cotton-clad fields and her rich minerals hastening 
a development in prosperity and wealth that is 
most gratifying to their friends everywhere. I 
have the pleasure of introducing Ex -Governor 
R. B. Bullock, of Georgia." 

Governor Bullock enjoyed a most cordial re- 
ception, and responded in the following words: 

Afr. President: I hesitate to intrude on the 
orderly digestion of the rich intellectual treat we 
have had this morning ; I hesitate still more to 
intrude on the digestion which should follow this 
well-known lunch-hour of our Cincinnati friends; 
but I am encouraged by the diffidence of my 



CIXCIXXATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 121 



friends from the Northwest and the Sonthwest, 
who have just addressed you, to at least acknowl- 
edge the courtesy of this occasion. Occasion- 
ally when we wish to do a special honor to our 
friends in Chicago we refer to that magnificent 
city as "the Atlanta of the North.'' [Laughter 
and applause.] Hereafter we shall adopt the 
name of our friend from the Southwest, and we 
will be ''the Wichita of the South." [Laughter 
and applause.] 

It was my privilege and pleasure to visit your 
city twenty years ago with a delegation of our 
friends from the South to aid my venerable friend, 
Governor Bishop, then mayor of your city, in per- 
suading your people that it was wise to vote ten 
million dollars to build a railroad to Chattanooga. 
I have never regretted my part on that occasion, 
and never forgotten the hospitality extended to us 
by your people. It is needless to speak of the 
progress of Cincinnati from that time to this. 
You have spoken in the erection of this mag- 



122 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



nificent stnicture in louder words and a more 
permanent way than any mere words of eloquence 
could do. 

In referring to us, Mr. President, as a section 
of our common country I desire to say, and I 
think I express the unanimous opinion of all our 
people, that we are a part — a subordinate integral 
part, if you choose — of this great Government 
of the people by the people and for the people. 
[Cheers.] And if in any future events it should 
be the duty of any American to follow that beau- 
tiful emblem of national sovereignty [pointing to 
an American flag on the platform, which had been 
carried in the procession], we will stand with you 
shoulder to shoulder, and march, touching elbows, 
where duty calls. [Loud and long cheers.] I will 
not detain you at this unfortunate hour of the day 
by giving you statistical information. It will be 
sufiBcient to say that the South — and I refer to all 
the country between the Potomac and the Rio 
'Grande — has doubled in almost every element of 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 123 



business since the certain event to which I will 
not refer. 

We have more than doubled our railwa\- mile- 
age; we have more than doubled the quantity and 
the value of our manufactures; we have more than 
doubled the quantity and the value of our chief 
staple, cotton; and we have more than doubled 
our mechanical industries for the manipulation of 
the cotton -crop. There are more than twice the 
number of looms, more than twice the number of 
spindles, running in that section now than at the 
other date which I have not referred to. [Laughter 
and applause.] That this has been accomplished 
you all know, and if there be in it au)' lesson to 
the statesman, I submit to this jury of business 
men that that lesson is that we should be encour- 
aged and not retarded by any adverse legislation. 
[Applause.] 

There is not a word that I can add to what has 
already been said by the other gentlemen in the 
way of thanks to this Chamber and to this city — 



124 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



not only for the wealth of its generous hospitality, 
but for the orderly manner in which it has been 
presented — and our only regret is that our stay 
can not be longer. Your committeemen have 
fairly hovered over us, and we are grateful. 

Gentlemen, I thank you for the courtesy of 
your attention. [Great applause.] 



THE OLD DOMINION 

The last speech of the day was delivered by 
Mr. R. W. Powers, of Richmond, Va., who was 
presented by President ^Morrison in the following 
words: "The Virginias, dear to us since the early 
days of the Northwest Territory. We have just 
become attached to them by new ties. The great 
bridge, just completed, that spans the Ohio and 
the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad complete the 
chain that binds and makes our interests one and 
inseparable. I have the pleasure of introducing 
to you Mr. R. W. Powers, of Richmond, Virginia." 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 125 



Mr. Powers was received with applause, and 
said : 

J/r. President and Gcntlcnicu : I think it is due 
myself to say that I did not expect to be here. 
The President of our Chamber was detained by a 
severe affliction, which occurred only a few mo- 
ments before the time he was to have taken the 
train. Nor did I know that I would be expected 
to have one word to say on this auspicious occa- 
sion until I entered this hall. But as I look upon 
this magnificent building which you have erected, 
and look out upon the prosperity of your city as 
manifested in her trade, her manufactures, her 
palatial residences, and her public buildings, and 
see before me this vast audience of cultured busi- 
ness men, and when I remember that )-ou are a 
child of Old \'irginia, I am proud of you. [Ap- 
plause.] 

I have listened with profound pleasure to the 
w^onderful development of your material wealth, 
as stated in the able address of vour orator. I 



126 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



gather from this address that your State has a 
population of one hundred persons to the square 
mile. Soon you, too, will have to emigrate, and I 
am here to-day to invite you, instead of going 
to the Southwest, as suggested by the gentleman 
from Wichita, to come back to the old "mother.'^ 
[Applause.] She will give you a hearty welcome. 
She has lands for sale from the Chesapeake Bay 
to the Blue Ridge IMountains, teeming with slate, 
granite, coal, and iron, only lacking capital to be 
developed. She can offer you the most genial 
climate ; her soil is susceptible of the highest 
improvement, only a little worn; her tobacco is 
sought after all over the world; and her people — 
well, I will not speak of them: they are known 
to many of you by ties of kindred. 

What we want is more capital to develop our 
mineral wealth. We have the push and energy^ 
but we lack the capital. We are no longer the 
lazy Southrons you have heard of; we are push- 
ing ahead. Railroads are being built throughout 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 127 



our State, and towns and villages are springing: 
np along their lines. Factories, which heretofore 
have been limited to the "East" and the "West," 
are found in every section of \'irginia, sending 
forth their products to every country on the globe. 
Our public schools and institutions of learning 
will compare favorably with the best in the coun- 
try; and liberal appropriations have been made by 
the State for their support. Thus you see that 
we are abreast with the times. 

I congratulate you upon your magnificent 
building, upon your liberal hospitality and your 
beautiful city. [Applause.] 

Ur. Paul M. Millikin, Secretary of the Cin- 
cinnati Chamber of Commerce, then announced 
the letters and telegrams of regret, after which 
the President declared the session adjourned, the 
hour being nigh two o'clock. 



128 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



LETTERS OF RECxRET. 



From the President of the United States: 



EXECLTIVE MANSION. 



Washington, January 25, 1889.^ 
The President directs me to express his thanks 
for the courtesy of the invitation, conveyed in 
yonr letter of recent date, to be present at the 
opening of the Chamber of Commerce new build- 
ing on the 29th instant, and to say that he regrets 
that his official duties will prevent his leaving 
Washington at the time named. 

Very respectfully, 

1). S. LAMONT. 

From Fx- President Hayes: 

SPIEGEL GROVE. } 

Fremont. O., Janlary 28, iSSg.*" 

The whole people of Cincinnati are to be con- 
gratulated on the completion of the new home 



CI^XINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMKRCE. 129 



of her biisiuess meu. It will command the ad- 
miration of all who see it. Cincinnati has a 
long list of objects of interest and attraction and 
notable structures; but this new and admirable 
monument to the great promoter of modern civ- 
ilization — this monument to commerce — must 
always stand, if not at the head, at least very 
high in the catalogue. 

With extreme regret I am compelled to deny 
myself the pleasure of being present at the dedi- 
cation of the building. 

Ver}' respectfully, 

RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 

From tlic Presidcui-dcci of tJic U)iitcd States: 

A correspondence extending through a con- 
siderable period was conducted with Benjamin 
Harrison, President - elect of the United vStates, 
in the early part of which he says: "I woiild be 
glad to show my interest in the event which is 
to be celebrated; but I can not now be sure that 



130 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



it will be possible for me to leave home at the 
time indicated. If you will allow me, therefore, 
I will withhold present decision ; and if when the 
time arrives I should find it possible to spend a 
few hours with }'ou, it will give me pleasure to 
do so." Matters finally transpired at Indianapolis 
unfavorable to the visit, and he wrote at the last 
moment, "It will be impossible for me to leave 
home." 

From the J'icc-Prcsidcnt-clcct : 

85 FIFTH AVENUE, i 

New York, January 25, 1889.' 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of 
the courteous invitation of the Cincinnati Cham- 
ber of Commerce and Merchants' Exchange to be 
present at the dedication of their new building 
on the 30th instant, and extremely regret that 
pressing engagements will deprive me of that 
pleasure. Very truly yours, 

LEVI p. MORTON. 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 131 



From the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

SPEAKER'S ROOM, 
HorsE OF Representatives, 
Washington, D. C, January 27, 18 

Your favor of January loth, inviting me to be 
present at the opening of the new building of the 
Chamber of Commerce and Merchants' Exchange 
of Cincinnati on the 29th of the present month, 
was duly received, and I have delayed my an- 
swer in the hope that the cou-dition of the public 
business here would enable me to accept. I find, 
however, that my official duties will require my 
constant presence in the House, and I am com- 
pelled, therefore, to deny myself the pleasure of 
attending your celebration. 

Sincerely hoping that the occasion may be a 
pleasant one, and that the future of your com- 
mercial organization may be as successful as the 

past, 

I am very truly yours, 

J. G. CARLISLE. 



132 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



From the Secretary of the Treasury: 

TREASURY DEPARTMENT,^ 

Washington, Janiary 12, 1889. ' 

I desire to acknowledge the receipt through 
you of the kind invitation of the Chamber of Com- 
merce and Merchants' Exchange of Cincinnati to 
be present on the occasion of the opening of the 
new building. 

I regret very much that engagements previ- 
ously entered into will prevent me from accepting 
your invitation. 

Respectfully yours, 

CHARLES S. FAIRCHILD. 

From the Comptroller of the Currency: 

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, \ 

Office of Comptroller of the Currency. >- 

Washington, D. C, January 26, 1889. ) 

Mr. W. L. Trenholm presents his compliments 
to the officers and members of the Cincinnati 
Chamber of Commerce, and expresses his great 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 133 



regret that engagements of an imperative char- 
acter prevent his acceptance of the invitation with 
which he has been honored by the Chamber. 

From the Goi'crnor of Ohio: 

CoiA MBus, O., January 29, 1889. 
I find myself at the last moment nnable to go 
to Cincinnati. Be assured of my regret. 

J. B. FORAKER. 

From Senator Shermaii: 

SENATE CHAMBER, ) 

Washington, January 28, 1889 > 

I have the honor to acknowledge the invi- 
tation of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce 
and Merchants' Exchange to attend the dedication 
of its new building on the 30th instant. 

I had alwa}'s hoped that when this important 
ceremony should take place I would be able to 
attend and participate in it. Not only as a citizen 
of Ohio, but as an honorary member of that body, 
I have felt the deepest interest in the erection of 



134 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



the building now completed, and no slight cause 
would keep me away ; but the press of business 
in the Senate, some of which is intrusted to my 
charge, has compelled me to decline all invitations 
of every kind that would take me away from this 
city during the present session. 

It is not material what will be said or done, or 
who shall witness the dedication ; the work is 
complete, and you have now a magnificent tem- 
ple, worthy of the great business to be conducted 
within its walls and of the city of Cincinnati, the 
pride not only of the citizens of Ohio, but of the 
great region whose commerce and trade it will be 
your privilege to conduct. I feel sure that this 
will be done by you and your successors with 
energy and with honorable fidelity to all business 
engagements made, and so as to promote the 
interests not only of your city, but of all who 
come within the reach of its influence. 
Very respectfully yours, 

JOHN SHERMAN. 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 135 



From Senator Payne : 

Washington-, D. C, January 28, 1889. 
I sincerely regret my inability to accept yonr 
courteous invitation for 29tli and 3otli instant. 

H. B. PAYNE. 

From Senator Beek : 

UNITED STATES SENATE, ^ 

Washington, D. C, January 12. 1S89.' 

Your kind invitation of January 9th to Senator 

Beck to be present at the opening of the new 

building erected by your Chamber of Commerce 

came this morning. I regret to inform you that 

the Senator is too unwell to be in his seat in the 

Senate, and is now traveling in the South. If he 

were well, no doubt it would give him pleasure to 

accept your invitation. I will forward your letter 

to him to-day, as I know he will not be able to 

accept. 

Yours sincerely, 

W. R. CLAY, Secretary. 



136 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



Fro}n Senator Blackburn : 

SENATE CHAMBER, > 

Washixgton, D. C. January 13. 1889.' 

Your letter of the 9th has been received. I 
should be most happy to accept your kind invi- 
tation for the 29th and 30th, but very much fear 
that the engagements imposed by public duties 
here may make it impossible for me to be with 
you. Should this prove to be true, I beg you to 
accept and to express to your Chamber the very 
sincere regrets that it will occasion me. 
\'ery truh* yours, 

J. C. S. BLACKBURN. 

From the Goi'ernor of J Irginia : 

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA.! 

Governor's Office. V 

Richmond, Va., January 21, 1889, 1 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt 
of an invitation to attend the opening ceremonies 
of your new biiildiug. I am much obliged for 



[NCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 137 



the ven- kind and cordial expressions contained 
in yonr letter of the i6th. My dnties are so 
constant and pressing here that I am afraid it will 
not be possible for me to meet yonr members 
upon that interesting occasion. 

Yours very truly, 

FITZHUGH LEE. 

From Minister Pendleton: 

Berlin. Janvarv 29, 1889. 

Congratulate Cincinnati on the dedication of 
the new Chamber of Commerce, and wish the 
association renewed prosperity. 

GEORGE H. PENDLETON. 



From the Chief Signal Offieer: 

' SIGNAL OFFICE. WAR DEPARTMENT.^ 
Washington. J.\Nr.\RV 26. 1889. 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt 

of your letter of notification that the new Chamber 

of Commerce and Merchants' Exchange building 



138 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



will be opened on the 29tli and 30th of January, 
1889, with appropriate ceremonies. It would give 
me gratification if it was possible for me to be 
in Cincinnati on so important and auspicious an 
occasion, but unfortunately my official duties and 
certain public engagements preclude the possi- 
bility of my attending. Expressing to you my 
thanks for the courtesy you have extended to me, 
I am, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

A. W. GREELY, Chief Signal Officer. 

From our Reprcscntath'cs hi Congress: 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.^ 

Washington, January 28, 1889. ' 

We are deprived of a great pleasure in not 
being with our fellow -members of the Chamber 
of Commerce on the occasion of moving into 
the new home. 

This is the short session of Congress, and we 
are compelled to work under high pressure to get 



CINXIXNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 139 



through with that part of the public busiuess 
which cau uot be postponed without great detri- 
ment to the public service. We refer to appro- 
priation bills and the like. 

We are sure that the house-warming will be 
a success. Our merchants and manufacturers 
make a success of every thing they undertake. 
They recognized in the beginning, and have since 
walked in the faith, that integrity, intelligence, 
and industry in trade and commerce lie at the 
base of all worthy and permanent success. An 
adherence to this bed - rock business rule has 
given to Cincinnati merchants and manufac- 
turers an enviable reputation throughout the 
country. 

We wish in the interest of good government, 
municipal, state, and national, that our people 
would come to understand that integrity, intel- 
ligence, industry, and manly courage are as in- 
dispensable to honorable and permanent success 
in politics as in business — that in each case the 



140 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



citizen should produce a sample, and see to it 
that the goods came up to the sample. 

Success to the trade and commerce of our 
loved city; and let us hope that as commerce 
has during the centuries past blazed the way for 
advancing and progressive civilization, it may, 
while enjoying the fruits of victories won, move 
forward to still grander achievements in the 
interest of mankind. With great respect, we are 
Your obedient servants, 

BEN. BUTTERWORTH, 
CHAS. E. BROWN. 

/^row Mr. A. J. Drcxcl : 

Philadelphia, January 24, 1889. 
I have received the kind invitation to attend 
the opening of the new building of the Chamber 
of Commerce on the 29th and 30th of January. 
I regret very much that my engagements prevent 
my accepting it. I appreciate very fully the 
honor vou have done me in asking me to be 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 141 



present at the ceremonies, and thank yon very 
much for extending the invitation to me. 

Wishing all prosperity to the Chamber of Com- 
merce and Merchants' Exchange, I remain 

Faithfully yours, 

A. J. DREXEL. 

From Mr. Cyrus W. Field: 

New York, January 28, 1889. 

Mr. Cyrus W. Field regrets that a previous 
engagement deprives him of the pleasure of 
accepting the polite invitation of the Cincinnati 
Chamber of Commerce for the 29th and 30th 
instant. 

From the Librarian of Congress : 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, } 
Washington, D. C, January 20, 1889. *• 

Thanks for the very courteous invitation to 
be present at the dedication of the new build- 
ing of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce. 



142 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



I ven- greatly regret that pressing official duties 
here will prevent me from joining in the celebra- 
tion of so ver\' interesting an occasion. 
Very respectfully, 

A. R. SPOFFORD, 

Librarian of Congress. 

From the President of the National Board of Trade : 
Philadelphia, January 26, 1889. 

I have been honored by your invitation to 
attend the dedication services at your new build- 
ing, and I sincerely regret that my age and the 
uncertainties of the season forbid me to leave 
home. 

But I shall bear the day of your celebration 
in remembrance, and will try to realize the pro- 
ceedings in which you will be engaged. I am 
sure that I shall be inspired by them with 
new energies for co-operating with you and the 
great brotherhood of merchants in our expand- 
ing country for the promotion of the welfare and 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 143 



prosperity of our fellow-citizens in the diversified 
interests to which they are devoted. 

I remember with peculiar pleasure my first ac- 
quaintance with your business men, which began 
in the year 1865, and the associations which I 
have had with them ; and the additions that years 
have since made, with the original members of the 
Board, who dwell in your queen-like city — all 
friends to be cherished while life shall last. 

Among the delightful memories is the first 
annual meeting of our National Board of Trade, 
and the records of that meeting may be read 
to-day as a part of our national history and of 
the important financial and economic problems 
which our civil war left for solution. Then and 
there the men of business from North and South, 
East and West, met together in friendly confer- 
ence, after years of estrangement and separation, 
and consummated a plan begun at Detroit in 
1865, carried forward at Boston and Philadelphia 
in the earlv part of 1868, and perfectly organized, 



144 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



and put upon that grand pathway which it has 
since trodden, in Cincinnati at that ever memo- 
rable meeting. 

Words fail me to express my hopes of its 
future usefulness; but if all the chambers of com- 
merce, exchanges, and boards of trade that are 
now so numerously established in our land will 
be as true to it as has been your association, it 
will continue to be a great and beneficial power, 
useful for the development of sound principles 
and wholesome practices. 

What you are about to do, after many years of 
experience, will be a great example for imitation. 
A permanent and beautiful building such as you 
have just completed is a bond of union and 
strength, and as you daily tread its halls you will 
fully realize that, as man looks upon man, good 
deeds are inspired, and the cravings of the divine 
nature within us are more and more satisfied. 

Therefore I cheer you onward, and trust that 
I may often be permitted to see my dear friends 



CIN'CINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 145 



of Cincinnati at the annual gatherings of onr 
National Board and in the happy private circles 
where we have linked our hands and hearts to- 
gether. Respectfully and sincerely your brother 

merchant, 

?'RED. FRALEY. 

From Senator Kcnna: 

Chaklestown, W. \'a., January 15, 1S89, 

Senator Kenna directs me to say that he appre- 
ciates your kind invitation, but finds it will be 
impossible for him to be present on the interest- 
ing occasion )'ou mention. Truly yours, 

J. A. HUTCHISON, Scc'y. 

From Senator Faulkner: 

Washington, D. C , January 14, 1889. 

Your favor of the 9th received. I regret very' 

much m}' inability to comply with your polite 

request, but I have engagements. at that time that 

will prevent me from doing so. Very truly yours, 

CHAS. J. FAULKNER. 



146 DEDICATORY EXERCISKS. 

From Iix-Soiator Thurniaii: 

Col-UMHUS, ().. JaNL ARY 28, 1889. 

Juclg'e Thunnan instructs me to acknowledoe 
the receipt of your kind invitation to attend the 
opening exercises of the new Chamber of Com- 
merce, and to most sincerely thank you for the 
same. It would give him much pleasure to be 
with you at that time, but his engagements are 
such it will be iitterly impossible for him to be 
present. Thanking you again, I remain, 
Very respectful!)-, 

N. P. X\E. 

From t/ir Commandaiif of tJic 

Ohio Soldiers and Sailors' Nome: 

SaNDI SKY, O., JaXI ARY 26, IS89. 

Please accept my thanks for invitation to the 
ceremonies celebrating the opening of the new 
Chamber of Commerce and Merchants' Exchange. 
The congress of business men, so important a 
factor in the growth of Cincinnati, will have a 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 141 



worthy home in the new bnilding, the crowning 
work of the greatest architect of onr time, and 
which will be not only an ornament bnt an edu- 
cation to Cincinnati. I regret that duties here 
will prevent my having the pleasure of accepting 
your invitation. 

Respectfully and truh- yours, 

M. F. FORCE. 

From an Ex-Prcsidoit of tlic Chain her : 

New York. Ja-Vi ary 21, 1889. 

I trust I need not inform \ou how gratifving it 
is to receive such an invitation to meet my old 
friends on an occasion so interesting as the dedi- 
cation of a suitable building to the purposes of a 
Chamber of Commerce and Merchants' Exchange, 
and I have delayed an acknowledgment of your 
invitation, hoping I might be enabled to accept it 
and participate in your celebration; but finding it 
impossible to do so consistently with my other 
obligations, permit me to thank you and the com- 



148 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



mittee for your flatterino- invitation, and to express 
the hope that your expectations will be fully 
realized in the erection and permanent occupation 
of a building which, I am told, is substantial and 
ornamental. Very truly yours, 

ROLAND G. MITCHELL. 

From the IVi'doiv of James A. Fraser :'^ 

Mt. Auni rn, January 21, 1889. 
The preliminary notification of invitation to 
the opening of the Cincinnati Chamber of Com- 
merce and Merchants' Exchange at hand. I 
deem myself highly honored and grateful in the 
extreme toward the members for their kind con- 
sideration in tlie matter. 

Respectfully, 

Mrs. ELIZABETH FRAZER. 



* Mr. James A. Frazer made a bequest of $5,000 towards 
a building for the Chamber of Commerce, this representing the 
only money used in the erection of the edifice which was not 
received through the regular metliods of the association. 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 149 



From Ihe Uldoiv of the Architect: 

Brooklixe, Mass.. January i6, 1889. 
I have just received your kind and tliouglit- 
ful invitation, and I am very much touched by 
your hospitality. I am exceedingly sorry that 
my duties at home this month will prevent my 
accepting your kind invitation. 

Please present my regrets to the Executive 
Committee, and tell them how exceedingly sorry 
I am that I can not be present at the opening of 

the new building. 

JULIA J. RICHARDSON. 

From the Sec'y of the Biiffahi Merchants' Fxchange: 

BlKFALO, N. Y., JANIARY 28, 1889. 

I thank you for your invitation to the opening 
of your new Chamber of Commerce, and regret 
very much that I can not be present. IMy busy 
time is a month before and two or three months 
after our January election for trustees. I have for 
manv vears longed to visit your city and renew 



150 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



our acquaintance, Ipiit must wait a little longer for 
that pleasure. Yours faithfully, 

WM. THURSTONE. 

From Hon. Dai'id A. Wells: 

Norwich, Conn., January 23, 1889. 

I desire to acknowledge the compliment of an 
invitation extended to me to be present and parti- 
cipate in the exercises attendant on the opening 
of the new building erected for their use by the 
Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce. I greatly 
regret that circumstances over which I have no 
control will not admit of my being present. 
I am yours most respectfully, 

DAVID A. WELLS. 

From the SupH of the N. Y. Produce Exchange: 

New York, January 23, 1889. 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt 
of your favor of the 19th instant. I regret that 
my duties here will deny me the pleasure of being 



CINCIXXATl CHAMBER OK COMMKRCK. 151 



present at the openinj^ exercises in your new 
building on the 29th and 30th of this niontli. 

Thanking you for the courtesy of the invita- 
tion, I am very respectfully yours, 

L. H. WOWV.. Si<prri/,lrnd,nf. 

From (lie Hon. Hcrny Probasco: 

Cliftox. Ohio, Jantarv 27. 18S9. 

It is with sincere regret that ]\Irs. Prol)asco and 
myself are compelled to decline the honor of your 
invitation to the promenade concert on an occa- 
sion so memorable in the annals of Cincinnati. 
The same reasons will also prevent nu- pres- 
ence at the dedication, as it would be a sincere 
pleasure to meet so many of the older gentlemen 
of the Chamber with whom my associations of a 
lifetime have always been of the most agreeable 
nature. I ha\-e the honor to be, with sentiments 
of the highest personal regard to one and all, 
Your friend and obedient servant, 

IIKXR\- PROBASCO. 



152 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



From iJic Scc'y of the National Board of Trade: 
Boston, Jani arv 25, 1889. 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt 
of the invitation of your Chamber to be present 
at the opening, next week, of the new building 
which it has erected for its permanent home, and 
I return my sincere thanks for the same. I regret 
that I shall not be able to attend on the inter- 
esting occasion, but I beg to express my sincere 
hope that the celebration will be in all respects a 
successful one, and that with the occupanc\' of its 
new building a new era of prosperity will open 
before the Chamber. 

I am very respectfully and truly yours, 

HAMILTON A. HILL. 

From tJic Scc'y of the St. Louis Mereha?its' Fxeh\: 
St. Louis, Mo., January 26, 1889. 
I am honoreVl with an invitation to be present 
at the dedication of your new Chamber of Com- 
merce on the 30th instant. I regret exceedingly 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 153 



that my duties will not permit me to join you on 
that occasion. I beji^ of you, therefore, to accept 
my recjrets, and also my congratulations on the 
completion of your elegant Exchange home. 
Yours very truly, 

GEO. II. MORGAN, Sec\v. 

From tJic Secy of the Toledo Produce Exchange: 

Toledo, Ohio, January 8, 18S9. 

I offer you my hearty congratulations with the 
hope of continued prosperity and growth. 
Yours truly, 

DENISON p. SMITH, Scc'y. 

From ahsent Members: 

New Orleans, La., Janiarv 30, 1889. 
\Ve heartily congratulate our fellow -members 
upon this auspicious occasion. We are with you 
in spirit, if not in fle.sh. 

JOHN A. KREIS, 
L. C. KEEVER 



154 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



From the Louisiana Sugar Exchange: 

New Orleans, La., January 30, 18S9. 
We congratulate you on the dedication of your 
new and beautiful business home, and trust that 
the prosperity of your institution may exceed 
your highest expectations. 

WM. HENDERSON, President. 

From Mr. George JV. Childs: 

Philadelphia, January 28, 1889. 
The welcome invitation you forwarded me in 
behalf of the Chamber of Commerce to attend the 
opening of its new building finds me so situated 
that it is impracticable to attend. I would like 
very much to be with you; but as I can not, I send 
you a brief expression of the feeling I would have 
carried to your hospitable ceremonial if I could 
have obeyed my wish to be present: "Continued 
prosperity, health, and happiness to Cincinnati, 
eldest and most richlv-endowed daughter of the 



CIN'CIXXATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 155 



first of the noble sisterhood of States born of the 
empire territory northwest of the Ohio." 
\"ery truly }onrs, 

GEORGE W. CHILDS. 

Fro))i f/ic Hon. Fra/nis A. Walker: 

MaSSACHUSKTTS In-.STITITE of TF.CHXor.<){,Y,^ 

Boston. Jantakv 28. 18S9. ' 

It is with great regret that I find myself unable 
to be present at the opening of the new Chamber 
of Commerce in Cincinnati on the 30th instant. 
Almost continuous engagements will prevent my 
attendance on that interesting occasion. When 
for the first and the last time I visited Cincinnati 
in 1870 I was greatly impressed by its commercial 
architecture. Your Fourth Street (if I rightly 
recall the name) struck me as presenting the 
finest example I had ever anywhere seen of com- 
modious, appropriate, agreeable, and harmonious 
construction for the purposes. I have often since 
then recurred to this aspect of Cincinnati with 



156 • DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



much satisfaction, and I rejoice to see in the noble 
edifice you are to dedicate on the 30th, as it is 
represented on the engraved cards of invitation, 
a building worthy to be the crown of the com- 
mercial architecture of }-our city. 

Truly yours, 

F. A. WALKER. 

From the Hon. Edward Atkinson : 

Boston, January 14, 1889. 
At almost any other time I should make an 
effort to visit Cincinnati and to accept your invi- 
tation to be present at the opening of the new^ 
Chamber of Commerce; but my annual meeting 
comes in February, and in the last days of Jan- 
uary I am more occupied than at any other time 
of the year in compiling the annual accounts of 
my own company and of the Associated Factory 
Mutual Companies. I must, therefore, regretfully 
decline your invitation. Most truly yours, 

EDWARD ATKINSON. 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 157 

From the Scc'y of the Baltimore Corn and Flour Ex.: 
Baltimore, Md., Jaxiary 23. 1889. 
I beg to acknowledge with thanks your very 
kind and cordial invitation to be present at the 
celebration of the Chamber of Commerce on the 
30th instant. I regret that it will be impossible 
for me to attend on that occasion, but I am with 
von in spirit, and extend hearty congratulations 
for the fntnre success, welfare, and usefulness of 
your body. Yours very truly, 

WM. F. WHEAT LEY, Sec'y. 

From the Framer of the Stcitistieal 

Svstem of the Chamber of Commeree: 
New York, Janv ary 18, 1889. 
I have received your kind note of the 12th in- 
stant, inviting me to attend the celebration of the 
Chamber of Commerce upon the opening of its 
new building, and very cordially thank you for it; 
but I greatly regret that a previous engagement 



158 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



upon that day will prevent my being present. It 
wonld be a great satisfaction to me to participate 
in this enjoyment, because I took an active in- 
terest in the organization of the Chamber about 
forty -four years ago. At that time the enterprise 
was regarded as a little in advance of the business 
requirements of the city, and it was sustained at 
some little sacrifice of time by those who believed 
in its permanent value. I should be glad to call 
to memor}- the many esteemed citizens of that 
day with whom I was associated in that work, 
but forbear to name them lest I omit many, to my 
regret. 

The time was well chosen. The telegraph 
was just before invented; railroad lines had been 
constructed in Ohio, but I believe that neither 
of these had been extended west of your State to 
anv distance. Cincinnati was then in condition to 
receive the impetus given by all known facilities 
for commercial progress, and well has she im- 
pro\'ed them. There certainly has never been a 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 159 



period in the world's history so marked by sub- 
stantial progress as during the forty-four years 
covered by the life of your association, and it is 
questionable whether that short space of time does 
not concentrate more of vital improvement than 
all that has preceded it. 

With fraternal regard to all the members of 
your association, I am, dear sir. 

Gratefully yours, 

GEORGE S. COE. 

From flu- 'Noil. Williaiii Henry Smith: 

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, ) 
New York, January 24, 1889.' 

On m>- return from Europe I find your favor of 
the loth instant, inviting me to be present on the 
occasion of the opening of the new building for 
the permanent use of the Merchants' Exchange. 
It would afford me great pleasure to participate in 
the interesting ceremonies of that occasion, and 
I will do my best to be present. A considerable 



160 DEDICATORY EXERCISEvS. 

absence necessarily accumulates a large amount 
of business requiring my personal attention, and 
if this can be cared for, I will be with you on the 
29th or 30th. Yours truly, 

WILLIAM HENRY SMITH. 

From the Nczv York Produce Exchange: 

New York, Janl arv 29 1889. 
I have just learned that the delegation intended 
to represent this Exchange at your dedicatory 
ceremonies will not be able to attend. Please 
accept our hearty and earnest congratulations and 
very best wishes that }'ou ma}' long enjoy the 
magnificent mercantile home you have had the 
self- appreciation and courage to create for >'our 
good selves. 

A. E. ORR, President. 
From the Boston Chamber of Commerce: 

IJosToN, January 24. 18S9. 

The courteous invitation extended to this 
Chamber to send representatives to assist in the 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 161 



opening ceremonies of your new chamber was 
dnly received and is appreciated. The reason of 
any delay in reply is entirely due to our endeavors 
to find some parties who could leave at this time 
to go as delegates, as our annual dinner occurs on 
the 31st instant. Those parties whom we should 
desire to send feel it their duty to the Chamber 
to be present here. 

With regrets at our inability to send delegates, 
and wishing the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce 
every success in their new quarters, we are 
Very sincerely yours, 

W. H. PEARSON, Secretary. 

From I he Ex- Chief of the Bureau of Statistics: 

Hlntix(;ton, Long Island, N. Y., ) 
Janlary 12, 1889. S 

I have just received your letter of the loth 
instant, inviting me to attend the opening of the 
new building erected by the Cincinnati Chamber 
of Commerce for its permanent home. I con- 



162 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



gratulate the Chamber of Commerce and the city 
of Cincinnati upon this achievement. From the 
view of the building presented at the head of 
your letter, I assume it is worthy of your great and 
enterprising city, which has a fame for intellectual 
development and aesthetic culture as well as for 
commercial power. Regretting that I shall prob- 
ably be unable to accept your kind invitation, I 
am, sir, very truly and respectfiilly yours, 

JOSEPH NIMMO, Jr. 

From the Commissio)icr of AgricitUurc: 

WASHINCiTON, D.C., JaNIAKV 28, 1889. 

I am in receipt of your letter of January lotli, 
inviting me to be present at the exercises of cele- 
bration attending the opening of the new building 
of the Chamber of Commerce and Merchants' 
Exchange of your city. You have my thanks for 
the honor and courtesy of your invitation, and I 
keenly regret that pressing public duties prevent 
an acceptance. I congratulate your organization 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 



163 



upon its accession to this permanent and palatial 
home. I bespeak for its opening an auspicious 
and joyous occasion, and for the future a record 
of success and achievement in consonance with 
the boundless spirit of enterprise and progress 
and the tireless energy of the citizens of Cincin- 
nati. ' Very respectfully, 

NORMAN J. COLMAN. 

From the Statistician of the Deft of Agriculture: 
Washington, January 26, 1889. 
I regret my inabilit\-, under the present pres- 
sure of official business, to accept your courteous 
invitation to be present at the opening of the new 
Chamber of Commerce Building. Allow me to 
most heartily congratulate you upon your acqui- 
sition of so comfortable and luxurious a home, 
and upon the prosperity and liberality, the taste 
and esprit du corps, which combined to render the 
beautiful architectural erection possible. In the 
hope that your merchants may ever illustrate the 



164 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



homely virtues of honesty and patriotism which 
adorned your patron, that noble Roman, Cincin- 
natus, I am Yours respectfully, 

J. R. DODGE. 

From the Chamber of Commerce 

of the State of Nezv York: 

New York, January 25, 1889. 

I regret very much that I am unable to accept 
your very kind and complimentary invitation. I 
beg to add my most sincere congratulations to 
your honorable body upon the occasion of the 
opening and dedication of your new and very 
appropriate home. This completed building 
gives permanent expression and lasting influ- 
ence to the institution which you represent. It 
must logically and necessarily take its place 
among the forces for good in molding the com- 
mercial, legislative, and industrial energies which 
so largely rule our country, where universal suf- 
frage is the sovereign power, and where intelli- 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 165 



gence must hold the reins, or corruption and 
disaster will follow. 

It has been said by intelligent foreigners, with 
some truth, that the government of all large cities 
in the United States for the past quarter of a 
century has been a reproach to republican insti- 
tutions. It i3 the privilege of great and influen- 
tial associations like yours to throw the weight of 
its influence not necessarily on any political side, 
but in favor of all laws and practices which make 
for justice and right, and these are the most direct 
methods that can be adopted to encourage and 
strengthen commerce, which has been the pioneer 
of progress in this land. 

I am, dear sir, very truly yours, 

CHAS. S. SMITH, President. 

From the Chief of the Bureau of Statistics: 

Washington, D. C, Janlary 15, 1889. 
Official engagements, present and prospective, 
will deny me the pleasure of being personally 



166 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



present on an occasion which will be franght with 
great interest to Cincinnati and to all of its com- 
mercial and indnstrial activities. The dedication 
of such a building to the purposes of its estab- 
lishment will be a signal event in the marvelous 
commercial and manufacturing history of the 
Queen City of the Ohio Valley. 

Thanking you for the honor of the invitation, 
and tendering my sincere regrets because of my 
inability to accept it, 

I am yours very respectfully, 

WM. F. SWITZLER. 

From the Nezv Orleans Cotton ExcJiangc: 

New Orleans, Janiary 26. 1889. 

President Thomas desires me to present his 
congratulations to our sister Exchange of Cincin- 
nati on the substantial evidence of the thrift and 
energy of the merchants of the Queen City, and 
to express the hope in behalf of the cotton-men 
of New Orleans that the fiftieth anniversarv of 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 107 



the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce may prove 
the inaugnration of an era of increased prosperity, 
compared with which past trinmphs will appear 

moderate. 

Very trnly and sincerely, 

HENRY G. HESTER, Secretary. 

From one of tJic Foiiudrrs of tJie Institution: 

Atlantic City. N. J., January 27, 1889. 

I am in receipt of yonr valned invitation, as 
a snrvivor of the first organization to establish a 
Chamber of Commerce in oiir city in 1839, to 
attend the opening of the new building erected 
by the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce and 
Merchants' Exchange for their permanent home, 
Yonr invitation brings before me the work that 
was done in the winter of 1839 to organize and' 
establish the Chamber of Commerce, when I, as 
a member of the firm of Samnel Fosdick & Co., 
had an active part in all the work, and there is 
no work of my past life that I refer to with more 



168 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



pleasure than the work of establishing a Chamber 
of Commerce in the city of my birth and home of 
my life. But this pleasure is more than doubled 
by the receipt of your invitation, after the lapse 
of fifty years, to attend the opening of a new 
building erected by the Chamber of Commerce 
and Merchants' Exchange for their permanent 
home. 

I shall not be able to attend. I can not leave 
my winter home here on the Atlantic seashore. 
I assure you that I am charmed b}' your invita- 
tion to attend this celebration. It is a laudable 
purpose, and will help to open the thoughts of 
members and enlarge their ideas, and will have 
a good influence upon those who, sooner or later, 
will take their places in this home of the business 
world of Cincinnati. 

Thanking yon for your kind remembrance 
of me, I am 

Respectfully yours, 

J. M. McCULLOUGH. 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 



1G9 



From the Xcw York Stock Exchange: 

New York Janl ary 28, 1889. 
Your kind invitation to send a committee of 
this exchange to participate in the celebration 
of the fiftieth year of your association was pre- 
sented to the Governing Committee at a meeting 
held this day, and I am instructed by them to 
thank you for your courteous remembrance, and 
to say that they regret that their business cares 
and engagements this week will prevent their 

acceptance of it. 

Wishing you and your association every suc- 
cess, I am Sincerely yours, 

GEORGE W. ELY. Secrciary. 

'from a Vicc-PrcsH of the National Board of Trade: 

PlIILADF.I.l'HIA. JANI^ -^R^' 25- 1889. 

I regret that very numerous engagements pre- 
vent my acceptance of your invitation; but I beg 
to congratulate the Cincinnati Chamber of Com- 



170 DEDICATORY KXERCISES. 



merce on the erection, completion, and occnpancy 
of the grand bnilding yon now dedicate to the 
commerce of yonr city. Philadelphia, nnlike 
Cincinnati, has lost mnch of its commercial power 
by having allowed the formation of small trade 
organizations. By nnion yon have strength and 
wealth, an example of power which the whole 
conntry shonld emulate. Allow me to wish the 
Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce continned pros- 
perity and nsefnlness, and to offer the sentiment, 
"In nnity there is strength." 

Yonrs very trnly, 

BENJAMIN S. JANNEY, Jr. 

From the Prcsidcnl of tJic Boston Mcrc/iants' Ass'n : 
BosTox, January 26. 1889. «c 
I beg to acknowledge the receipt this morning 
of the complimentary card of invitation to the 
festivities attending the dedication of yonr new 
bnilding. It appears to be a magnificent strnc- 
tnre, and )-on are to be congratnlated. Nothing 



CIXCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 



171 



would ^^ive me more pleasure than to look upon 
it within and without, and at the same time to 
become acquainted with the solid men of Cincin- 
nati who have been instrumental in projecting 
and completing so great an undertaking. At 
some future date I trust to have that pleasure. 
It would be impossible now. 

With great respect, 

JONATHAN A. LANE. 

From the Commissioner of Internal Revenue: 

Washington, D. C, January 26, 1889. • 
I regret very much my engagements here will 
prevent my acceptance of the invitation extended 
to me by the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce to 
attend a promenade concert on Tuesday, the 29th 
instant, and the dedication of its new building on 
Wednesday, the 30th instant. 

Yours truly, 

JOSEPH S. MILLER. 



172 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



From tlic CJianibcr of Commerce of Ha)wver : 

Hanover, Germany, January 30, 1889. 
Hearty greetings for to-day's opening of yonr 
Chamber of Commerce. 

MEYER, 
SEVERIT. 

From the Belfast Chamber of Commerce: 

Belfast, Ireland, January 26, 1889. 
I beg to acknowledge the receipt of yonr cir- 
cular of the loth instant, and to congratulate you 
on the proposed celebration of the fiftieth year of 
your association. Both time and distance prevent 
delegates from this Chamber being at the meet- 
ing. Yours, etc., 

SAMUEL VOUCH, ^-^v. 

From the hicorp. Cha»iber of Commerce of Liverpool : 
Liverpool, Eng., February 7, 1889. 

I have to acknowledge the receipt of your 
kind invitation to three representatives of this 
Chamber to join in the dedicatory exercises at the 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 173 



Opening of yonr new building, and also to express 
regret that time and distance did not permit of 
the invitation being accepted. With best wishes 
for your Chamber's prosperity, and thanking you 
for thinking of such distant friends, I am, dear sir, 
yours faithfully, 

THOMAS H. BARKER, Sec'y. 

From the Chamber of Commerce of Paris : 

Paris, France, January 30, 1S89. 

We promptly informed the Chamber of Com- 
merce of Paris of the receipt of your letter in- 
viting our body to send delegates to represent it 
at the ceremonies of inauguration of the new 
building of the Chamber of Commerce of Cincin- 
nati. Our Chamber has been forced regretfully 
to answer that no one of its members could find 
it feasible to go to Cincinnati to be present at the 
celebration in question, and therefore begs to 
apologize for not being able to respond afifirma- 
tivelv to the invitation which vou have done us 



174 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



the honor to address to ns, and for which our 
association expresses to you its warmest thanks. 
Please accept, Mr. President, the assurance of 
our highest esteem. 

M. POIRRIER, President. 
MARTIAL BERNARD. Sec'y. 

From {he Lii'crpool Prodnci' Excliaugc: 

LivKRi'ooL, ExG., Jaxiary 29, 1889. 

I am directed by the President of this Ex- 
change to tender you his best thanks for your 
kind invitation to the ceremony of the dedication 
of your handsome new building. We greet you 
with hearty good wishes for the prosperit>- of 
your institution. Faithfully yours, 

(rEORGE E. CURZON. 

From CJiamhcr of Commerce of Marseilles : 

M.\RsEir.r-Es. Eraxc 1:, J.vxr ary 28, 18S9. 
Our Chamber returns its thanks to you, ]\Ir. 
President, for your very courteous invitation, and 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 175 



would have been very orlad to arranfre for repre- 
sentation at the celebration of the openino- of your 
new building-; but the distance which separates 
us and the brief time that now inter\-enes make 
it impossible for us to accept your oracious invita- 
tion. Our Chamber authorizes me to request you 
to be kind enough to convey to your Chamber, 
as well as to receive for yourself, this expression 
of our very sincere regrets, and also to accept this 
declaration of our profoundest esteem. 

C. FABRE. President. 
From the Boutoi^uc CJianihiT of Coninicrcc : 

Bol I,0(,NE, Fr ANCK. FkURT AKV 6, 18S9. 

At our last meeting I called the attention of 
my worth)' colleagues to the letter which \o\\ did 
me the honor to address to me for the purpose 
of inviting this body to provide for its represen- 
tation by two of our members at the opening 
of the new edifice of the Chamber of Commerce 
of Cincinnati, as well as at the celebration of 



176 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of your 
commercial organization. The Chamber of Com- 
merce of Boulogne authorizes me to tender you 
oiir special thanks for this invitation, and to 
assure you of our keen regret at being unable to 
send delegates to represent us at your inaugural 
and semi-centennial ceremonies. 

Please accept, Mr. Secretary, this humble ac- 
knowledgment of my highest esteem. 

ilURET LAGACHE, President. ■ 

From the Havre Chamber of Commeree: 

' Havre, France, January 21, 1889. 
I thank you for your cordial invitation of 
the 19th of January, confirmed since by three 
special invitations to be placed in the hands of 
the delegates. Our Chamber of Commerce regrets 
exceedingly not to be able to transmit to you its 
acceptance. Your letter came to hand a little 
late, so as not to permit us to take such action 
as would have been necessary in the case, and 



CI 



NCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 177 



besides that each one of its members is now 
retained at Havre by his affairs, and finds him- 
self at this moment unable to absent himself for 
the length of the voyage. 

Please accept, Mr. vSecretary, the assurances 
of mv highest regards. 

F. MALLE, President. 

From the Merchants' Guild of Berlin: 

Berlin, Germany, Januaky 21, 1889. 

The highly -respected Chamber of Commerce 
at Cincinnati has done us the honor to invite 
some of our members to the celebration of its 
fiftieth anniversary. We unfortunately are not 
in a position to accept this kind invitation, as 
the celebration will occur on the 30th of January; 
but you may rest assured that we shall think of 
you on that day with sincere sympathy. As we 
know ourselves and all Germany to be united 
with the United States by innumerable intel- 
lectual and material interests, we can offer you 



178 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



the heartiest and most joyfiil congratulations on 
the great development which your city and its 
environs have shown in the last fifty years, and 
to which at your celebration you may look with 
pride. Your famous city takes a prominent place 
in the commerce of the most necessary produc- 
tions of agriculture, of live-stock, tobacco, hides, 
leather, wool, wood, lumber, and cotton, and in 
some large branches of industry, such as iron, 
wood, and leather. We heartily desire that the 
great success which has so far distinguished your 
labors will remain with you in the future. 

The Seniors of the Merchants' Guild of Berlin, 
Frent/el. Wm. Leue, Kaemof. 

Frcfiu tlic Stuttgart Chamber 

of Commerce and Industry: 

Stuttgart, Germany. Janiary 17, 1889. 
We thank you for your kind invitation to the 
dedicatory ceremonies on the 30th of this month, 
and while we sincerely regret, on account of the 



OI^XINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 17! 



great distance, we can not take part in them, 

we congratnlate yon on this important event, 

and wish yon fnrther snccess in >onr new home. 

\'er}- respectfnlly, 

JOHS, President. 

Dr. HUBER, Secretary. 

From General H. ]'. Boyutoii: 

Washington. D. C, January 15, 1889. 

Accept my sincere thanks for the invitation to 
be present at the dedication of \'onr new bnilding 
on the 30th instant. I am sorry that I can not 
come. There are man}- pleasant memories for 
me in the days when the Chamber gave its hall 
and the hard work of its members to some of the 
dnties which war reqnires of citizens. Many 
strong ties of friendship date back to those days. 
In these times of peace it is pleasant to those 
citizens of Cincinnati resident here to be con- 
stantly reminded that under its present efficient 
management the Annnal Reports of the Cham])er 



180 DEDICATORY KXKRCISKS. 

rank highest ainoiijj;- similar ])nblicatioiis with the 
Executive I)e])artiiieiits and the Conniiittees of 
Congress having to do witli e<jiiiinercial statistics. 
Your noble building is but a fitting exponent of 
connnercial progress in the Oueen City. 
vSincerely yonrs, 

II. V. ]i(3^'NTON. 

From Mr. IV. S. finrvry: 

Ciiii A(.(), Jam'ak's 29, 1889. 
Fraternal greetings to my many friends on this 
ausjjieions occasion. May the majest>', dignity, 
grace, and beanty of your new Chamber charac- 
terize the proceedings within its walls at all times. 

VV. S. lIARVli^'. 

From LiciilciiiDil -Cotinitaiidcr I 'a//, U. S. N.: 

OlKKI', OI' LkjII r-l!()lJSK I.NfSI'lX TOK,^ 

Cincinnati, January 23. 1889. ** 
I feel very highly honored, I assure nou, in 
receiving your kind invitation, and extrenieh- 
regret that my duties will j)revent my accepting. 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OK COMMKRCK. 181 



as I will be away from the city making an in- 
spection trip of (lOvcrnnR-nt beacon -lights all 
this month and a portion of I-Y-brnary. 
Very respectfnlly and sincerely, 

IIOLMAN VAIL, 
/.iciil.-CoiniiKDtder U. S. N. 

Letters of regret were received from — 
J. A. Price, vScranton, Penn., 
N. I). Sperry, New Haven, Conn., 
Alden J. Blethen, Minneapolis, Minn., 
vSidney P.. Roby, Rochester, N. Y., 
Ambrose vSnow, New York Cit>-, 

I'icc-rrcs' Is Salio)inl Board of Trade; 
C. Polbev, Ini])'l German Consul, Cincinnati; 
R. H. Harris, Delegate from Dnlnth, Minn.; 
P)()ard of Trade, Wilmington, Del.; 
vSan I'Vancisco Produce P^xchange; 
Wilmington (N.C.) Produce P^xchange; 
Merchants' I^xchange and P>oard of Trade, 
Portland, Maine; 



182 DEDICATORY P^XERCISRS. 

New Orleans Produce Exchange; 
Mobile Chamber of Commerce; 
Chamber of Commerce, Petersburg, \'a.; 
New York Mercantile Exchange; 
Philadelphia Maritime Exchange; 
Helena (Montana) Board of Trade; 
New York Board of Trade and Transport' n ; 
Board of Trade, Trenton, N. J.; 
Chamber of Commerce, Minneapolis, Minn.: 
Denver Cham, of Com. and Board of Trade: 
Savannah Cotton Exchange; 
Vicksburg Cotton Exchange; 
New Orleans Cotton Exchange; 
Montreal P.oard of Trade; 
PMinburgh Chamber of Commerce; 
Chamber of Commerce, Toulouse, Erauce; 
Chamber of Commerce, Copenhagen, Den.; 
Chamber of Commerce, Halle-on-Saale, Gqy. 
Merchants' Cruild, Danzig, (rermany; 
Chamber of Commerce, Halberstadt, (rcr. ; 
Chamber of Commerce, Worms, Germany; 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMKRCK. 



183 



Chamber of Commerce, Frankfort -on -the - 

Oder, Germany; 
Chamber of Commerce, ^^linden, (iermany; 
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uppei 

Bavaria, :Munich, Crermany; 
Chamber of Commerce, Birmingham, Eng.; 
Swansea (Wales) Chamber of Commerce; 
Chamber of Commerce, Frankfort - on - the 

Main, Crermany; 
:^Ierchants' Guild, Memel, Crcrmany; 
Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chem 

nitz, Germany ; 
Chamber of Commerce, Leipzig, Germany. 



184 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



THE EXCURSION. 



The railwa}- companies ha\-ino- invited tlie 
guests and the membership to an excursion around 
and through the city, a party filling five coaches 
left the station of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and 
St. Louis Railway at half past two o'clock. After 
passing over the Louisville and Nashville Rail- 
road, the Newport and Cincinnati bridge, and the 
Kentucky Central Railroad, visiting Newport and 
Covington, they eventually reached the new Ohio- 
river bridge of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, 
on which they returned to Cincinnati. They then 
passed over the Cincinnati, Washington and Bal- 
timore and Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and 
Indianapolis railways to Ivorydale, returning to 
the city over the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton 
and the Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis and 
Chicago tracks to the Central Union Station. 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 185 



THE BANQUET. 



The celebration of the day closed with the 
banquet in the evenincr, for which the Scottish 
Rite Cathedral on Broadway had been courteously 
placed at the disposal of the Chamber of Com- 
merce. After a reception, during which Prof. A. 
Nembach, the organist, performed a number of 
selections, dinner was announced, whereupon the 
great company, Adam Weber's Orchestra leading, 
marched to the dining-room, which had been 
arranged to seat four hundred and fifty persons. 

.Vbout eleven o'clock Captain C. M. Holloway, 
the toast-master of the evening, called the assem- 
blage to order, and said: 

Cciiflcmcii of tlic Cincinnati Chan/her of C\vn- 
incnc and I'isi/ino l}clrgatcs fnnn other Cities: It 
is with a feeling of mingled pride and pleasure 
that I rise to fulfill the duties of my office as 



186 DEDICATORY EXERCISKS. 



toast-master in this distinguished presence and 
on this auspicious occasion. We are met to-night 
to commemorate by a fitting close of the exer- 
cises of to-day an important epoch in the history 
of Cincinnati. 

It would be superfluous for me to endeavor to 
add to the glory of the occasion or the greatness 
of our city by personal observations of my own, 
after the exhaustive and eloquent oration of this 
morning by the Hon. Edward F. Noyes, who 
immortalized himself. I ma)-, however, call your 
attention to the fact that Cincinnati may be visited 
l)y floods, h\ dreadful riot and attendant fire — 
and, I ma\- add, by excessive taxation — but that 
the energy and enterprise of her substantial 
citizens can not be dampened by any or all of 
these dire calamities is to-day evidenced by the 
dedication of that grand structure for commercial 
intercourse which will ever stand as a fitting 
monument to the stability and worth of those 
who have irone before, and which will serve as 



CIXCIXNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 187 



a beacon-light for the guidance and emulation 
•of the generations that are to follow. 

Words fail me in attempting to express the 
pleasure with which we will go into our Chamber, 
upon which the e\'e of each and every member 
has rested with proud complacenc)' from the time 
of its inception until the hour of its completion. 

We are not here to-night, however, for the 
purpose of listening to labored efforts on the part 
of an inexperienced toast-master, but are all on 
the (jiii rii'i' of expectation to attend upon the 
many witticisms and bright sayings which will 
emanate from the minds of the silver-tongued 
orators who are to follow. 

We have in our midst representatives from 
the leading institutions of commerce of the great 
sister cities of this great Republic. The North, 
the South, the East, and the West have all con- 
tributed to do us honor upon this the great occa- 
sion of our commercial histor\-, and it would be 
presumptuous in me to longer encroach upon the 



188 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



time which is justly theirs. Gentlemen, I thank 
you for your attention. 

The toast-master then announced the toasts 
of the evening. 

I. The Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce: 
" If'e may build more splendid habitations. 
Fill our rooms with paintings and with sculptures, 
But we can not 
Buy with gold the old associations. " 

President Morrison was called upon to respond 
to this toast, and spoke as follows: 

Mr. CJiainuau and (rcutloiicu : In glancing over 
the list of toasts I discover that I am the only 
Cincinnatian expected to respond. The commit- 
tee's reason for this is obvious. It is their desire 
that this should be an e\-ening fully given o\-er 
to our guests, and when I sur\-ey the list of able 
speakers who are to follow I am admonished to be 
brief. In the name of the Cincinnati Chamber of 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMKRCK. 1 Sf» 

Coiiiinerce, whose guests you are, I a^ain l)id \ou 
a most cordial aud hearty welcouie. We liiolih- 
appreciate the houor of your presence here on tliis 
very interesting occasion, that is so dear to the 
heart of every good citizen, and desire to recog- 
nize it by every act of courteous and attentive 
and affectionate hospitality. 

Cincinnati, having celebrated her centennial 
year, is no longer a youthful city, going forward 
in the race with the bounding steps of her more 
ambitious sisters of the West. Hut we are not 
jealous; we rejoice in their prosperity. We can 
not boast of their giant elevators or mammoth 
packing-houses, or of their vast volume of option 
trading; but we can show that development of 
manufacturing industries that insures a steady 
progress, and constant employment to a rapidh- 
increasing population of contented and happy 
])eople. 

Over these interests the Chamber of Commerce 
has thrown a fostering^ care that has done much 



190 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



for their encouragement. Its membership is per- 
haps more thoronghh' representative of diversified 
interests than that of any other similar institution 
in the country. In this it is (;^rrying out its true 
destiny, and is the beacon-light pointing the way 
wherein the genius of our people find their best 
development. 

In the future, as in the past, I can safely 
pledge Cincinnati and her leading institution — 
her Chamber of Commerce — to stand in the fore- 
front of progress, the supporter and advocate of 
every thing that is progressive, refining, and that 
goes to elevate mankind. 

II. The Northwest: Day hy day its hoinid- 
ar/rs arr )]iadc more uncertain by f/ie march oj 
cii'ilization. 

Responded to by Mr. John Johnston, of Mil- 
waukee, who, on being introduced, said : 

Mr. President, Gentlemen of the Chamber of 
Commerce of Cincinnati., and (jiwsts: I crave your 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMKRCK. 191 



inditlt^eiice if I fail to respond to this toast in a 
becoming manner, inasmnch as I was not aware 
that I would be called upon to do so till a few 
minutes ago. 

And first of all permit me to convey to the 
business men of Cincinnati here assembled the 
most hearty congratulations of the Chamber of 
Commerce of Milwaukee and of the two hundred 
and twenty thousand inhabitants of the fairest 
city of the lakes on the completion and suc- 
cessful dedication this day of yonder s^■mmetrical, 
unique, and substantial Temple of Trade, em- 
blematic in its massive strength and proportions 
of the well-known reputation for solidity of the 
merchants of this beautiful metropolis. 

The toast speaks truly of the uncertain con- 
fines of the great Northwest. Thirt)' years ago 
Milwaukee was considered as a cit>' of the F'ar 
Northwest; now it is a city from which men begin 
to start for the Northwest. The watch-fires of 
civilization are being lit everv vear farther to the 



192 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 

west, and now even in tlie land of the Dakotas 
new States are being planted, while 

"Behind the scar'd sciuaw's birch canoe 
The steamer smokes and raves, 
And city • lots are staked for sale 
Above old Indian graves." 

Fifty years ago, when this Chamber of Commerce 
was first organized, the territory now comprising 
Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and Dakota did not 
contain sixty thonsand people, and it has now a 
popnlation of nearly six million. Year after year 
thonsands and tens of thonsands of the bone and 
sinew of the nations of northern Europe have 
been ponring on to "those gardens of the desert 
for which the speech of England has no name — 
the Prairies." Milwaukee was once the greatest 
primary wheat-market of the world; but now the 
wheat-center has moved far to the northwest, and 
Wisconsin and Iowa now rejoice in a very diversi- 
fied agriculture, while Milwaukee has over thirty 



CIXCIXXATI CHAMBER OK CO.MMKRCE. 193 

thousand hands employed in her factories, niakino- 
machinery, clothes, knitted goods, trnnks, bnggies, 
leather, boots and shoes, pork, and beer for the 
millions in the great region tributary to her 
trade. 

The rapid settlement of the Northwest would 
have been wholly impossible had it not been for 
the wonderful growth of commerce, which never 
fails to reward successful invention and thereby 
stimulate genius. Our great system of railways 
and telegraphs has been the result of commerce, 
and bv their agency has the (yreat West been 
filled with people. B\- them the nations of the 
earth are now bound together in the closest in- 
timacy. 

If a commodity is wanted in any market of the 
world, it is supplied from the remotest corners 
of the globe just as fast as electricity can carry 
the news and steam can bring the desired com- 
modity forward. We seem to hear the voice of 
the ancient prophet, '\Say unto the Kast give up, 



194 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



and unto the West keep not back; bring my sons 
from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the 
earth." 

Old Rome in the days of her imperial great- 
ness brought wheat from Egypt to the Tiber 
in her great triremes; but we are almost lost in 
wonder when we think what astounding advance- 
ment has been made in transportation by sea 
since then. If we estimate six men as equal to 
one horse -power, it would take over a hundred 
thousand oarsmen to propel one of our largest 
ocean-steamers, and when we consider that they 
must have food and sleep, it would take over 
two hundred thousand men to row the steamship 
''City of New York" from America to Liverpool. 
It is only since the dawn of this the reign of com- 
merce that such achievements ha\-e been possible. 
Commerce is gradually conquering the world to 
civilization. 

" Far as the breeze can bear the billows' foam, 
Survey her empire and behold her home." 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 195 

She is bridoino- the rivers, tiniiieliiio^ the inouii- 
tains, and sendiii«- her messaoes on the light- 
ning's flash through the dark depths of the 
ocean. Every mile of railroad that is built, 
every line of telegraph that is erected, every 
ship that crosses the ocean, tends to bind the 
nations closer in the bonds of brotherhood, and 
helps on the day when the purple testament of 
bleeding war shall be closed to be opened no 
more forever. 

Gentlemen of Cincinnati, I congratulate you 
on the proceedings of this day as marking another 
triumph of successful trade. 

III. The South : Kipcuino; these many years 
under a olorioits s/tii, lura' in its full friiitfubiess^ 
offers us the opportunity of the future. 

Reponse by Mr. George S. Kinney, of Nash- 
ville, who spoke as follows: 

Mr. Chairman and (ientleme/i of the Chamber 
of Co)nmeree of Cineinnati : It affords me great 



19<; DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 

pleasure to meet you ou this occasiou, aud it 
affords uiy associates, Mr. Charles Nelson and 
]\Ir. John N. Sperry, who with myself had the 
honor of having been selected as delegates by the 
^Merchants' Exchange of Nashville to the Cham- 
ber of Commerce of Cincinnati, great pleasure that 
we are present with you on this auspicious oc- 
casion. We are here as delegates from that body 
to bring you the congratulations of the merchants 
and of the citizens generally of Nashville, and of 
the people of the State of Tennessee — to con- 
gratulate you on having erected one of the most 
magnificent buildings that it was ever my pleasure 
to behold. I assure you, gentlemen, that it was a 
great gratification to be present with you to-day, 
and to be a witness to the dedication of so grand 
a structure as this Temple of Commerce. 

Before proceeding to reply to the toast — " The 
South" — I will say that the fame, the honor, the 
integrity, and the fair-dealing of the merchants 
of Cincinnati are not localized. You are known 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. I'Jl 



all through this broad land; you are known from 
one end of this broad land to the other as men 
of energy, as men of honor, as men of integrity 
and fair-dealing. We in the South know you 
well; we have had dealings with you for years and 
years; and I may with a great deal of pleasure 
say to-night that after we emerged from the late 
civil war, when homes were desolate, when the 
people were poor, who came to the people of the 
South and offered them aid and assistance? It 
was the citizens of Cincinnati wdio came to us and 
helped us on our feet, gave us credit, and said to 
us to be hopeful and energetic in the future; and 
I trust that we have in some degree manifested 
our appreciation of your generous sympathy by a 
return of a liberal share of the patronage of that 
section of our countr\-. The people of the South 
feel that the\- and you are one; and I do assure 
you to-night that I can tender you the congratu- 
lations of every State in the South, which I now 
cordiallv extend to von. The noblest effort vou 



198 DEDICATORY EXERCISKvS. 

ever put forth to show your iuterest and friend- 
ship for the South was when you spent twenty- 
eight millions of dollars to build the Cincinnati 
Soiithern Railroad; that was a test of your energy; 
that showed your skill and abilit>'. We only regret 
that you have not given us a branch into Nash- 
ville, and we believe that it will some day come; 
that you will branch out and come directly to 
Nashville. 

Now, while you have done so much -for your 
city and for your State, much more remains for 
you to do; your career is not ended. We have a 
grand and glorious country; such a republic as 
the world never before witnessed. It is our duty 
to go forward, and with a united effort try to 
bring her up greater and grander than any of the 
commercial nations of the civilized world. How- 
can we do it? We know full well that history, 
both ancient and modern, tells us that no people 
ever gained any prominence until they went out 
and sought commerce from other shores. The 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 199 



idea has existed for three thousand years that a 
nation to become prominent and inflnential in 
hnman affairs mnst build up a commerce with the 
outer world by similar methods to those which 
vou have employed in building up Cincinnati and 
her great commerce. It is commerce that starts 
all powers in human affairs in this world. 

Now, gentlemen, as I had occasion to state a 
few years ago at Chicago, on the occasion of its 
opening the Board of Trade Building, what we 
want are lines of steamships plying from our 
ports on the Atlantic and Pacific down to Mexico, 
Central America, and the States of South America 
and the West Indies, there to secure a great 
trade, which should have been ours to-day. The 
General Government has granted aid to the build- 
ing of railroads in the United States five hundred 
millions of dollars from the public domain and 
from her treasury. We have one hundred and 
fifty thousand miles of railroads in the United 
States more than the balance of the civilized 



200 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 

world. Just think of this conntr\-, only one 
hundred and ten years old, with a population of 
only three million when it started out, and to-day 
she has seventy millions of people, and the census 
of 1890 will wdien reported corroborate this esti- 
mate. Now, if we can get the Government of the 
United States to aid, if only by granting favorable 
mail contracts, ship -lines down the Atlantic and 
down the Pacific coasts and to the West Indies, 
we will imdoubtedly secure a trade wliich should 
have been in our possession years ago. 

What are the facts? In 1884 we bought from 
the Empire of Brazil fifty million dollars' worth 
of sugar, coffee, etc. How much did we sell her? 
But eight million dollars' worth. How do these 
figures stand as to the commerce of England with 
that country? Just about the reverse. She sold 
to Brazil thirt}-six million dollars' worth of goods 
and bought from her about twenty- four million 
dollars' worth. The vSoutli American govern- 
ments have sugar, coffee, and other raw materials 



CINCINNATI CHAMHER OF C0M:MHRCE. 



which we purchase annually of them; we have the 
manufactured products needed by them, and which 
they purchase annually from England, France, and 
Germany. I believe that it is through the boards 
of trade of the great cities of this country that we 
will ultimately get hold of that trade. You are 
the practical men. You understand the appre- 
ciation of business principles absolutely necessary 
to designing a successful effort in that direction; 
politicians understand the theoretical part. It is 
you who will have to build up and get that trade; 
and I believe that )'OU can do it. 

Now, I want to say one word more. One thing 
has militated against our interests, and that is the 
monetary question of this country. It is well 
known to you all that in 187 1 or 1872 the Gov- 
ernment of Germany demonetized silver, neces- 
sitating France to follow suit by the stoppage of 
the free coinage of silver by the Bank of France. 
England had demonetized it years before. What 
was the result? vSilver, having been thus debased 



202 d?:dicatory exercises. 

and stripped of its purchasino- power, no longer 
equal with gold as a measure by which the value 
of all the connnodities of the world was to be 
determined, was itself relegated to the category 
of a comniodit)', and as such its own \-alue was 
arbitrarily defined and determined b\- the impe- 
rial and autocratic gold dollar of England and 
Germany, which has through the cupidity and 
unscrupulousness of the capital classes of those 
governments been forced upon the civilized world 
for the purpose of accumulating greater wealth 
into fewer hands b)- robbing the masses of the 
people of the fruits of honest toil. I repeat, 
What has been the result? Kxamine the reports 
of the sales of breadstufifs, provisions, raw mate- 
rials, and manufactured articles which have taken 
place in the principal markets of the world for 
the past fifteen or twenty years, and \ou will 
observe a general decline in the price of all com- 
modities — even the wages of daily labor have 
l)een forced to succumb to the general downward 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OK COMMERCE. 203 

tendency. In modern times the amonnt of the 
two precious metals in use as a circulating me- 
dium throughout the world has been estimated 
at seven billion dollars, about equally divided 
between the two metals. Therefore the debasing 
of three and one half billion dollars of the me- 
tallic currency of the world, and stripping it of its 
purchasing power", has increased the purchasing 
power of gold to so great an extent that those 
governments go into all the principal markets of 
the world with their autocratic and inflated gold 
dollar, and purchase a dollar and a quarter's worth 
of the products of the world. Just here is where 
the .shoe pinches most ; for the price of all the 
breadstuflfs, provisions, and raw materials exported 
b>- the United States to Europe is regulated and 
determined by the autocratic and inflated gold 
dollar. 

From the ages of antiquity down to the present 
century the people of the civilized world, with 
one voice, have proclaimed gold and silver th.e 



204 DEDICATORY KXKRCISES. 

just and rij^htful circnlatiiio' mediunis for the 
exchange of the prodncts of the world. Go back 
to the early days of civilization. We find that 
the proportional value of gold to silver in ancient 
Greece was as one to thirteen; in Rome during 
the Republic as one to ten, and in the Impe- 
rial Go\'ernment of Rome as one to thirteen. In 
Europe during the fifteenth century as one to 
twelve; in Japan at the beginning of the present 
century as one to eight; in China as one to ten; 
in India as one to eleven; then as one to twelve, 
thirteen, or fourteen in advancing westward; and 
in Spain and all the countries of modern Europe 
as one to sixteen; but in some of the countries 
of modern Europe to-day as one to fifteen and 
one half, and in this couutr\- as one to sixteen. 
But an examination of the London market reveals 
the fact that the price of pure gold is twenty 
dollars and sixty-six cents per troy ounce, and the 
price of pure silver is ninety -eight cents per tro>- 
ounce; their proportional value being as one of 



CINCINNATI CHAMIIKR OI- COMMKRCI!. 205 

crold to twenty-one of silver. Never before in the 
history of the world did such disparity exist in 
the value of the two metals as at the present time. 
The alarmino- amount of twenty -five to thirty per 
cent decrease in the value of silver has been 
reached since 187 1. Of the forty or forty-five 
metals known to the scientists of the world, all 
of them, includino- silver, have within the same 
period of time suffered a similar depreciation in 
value, with the exception of ^rold, which has 
increased. 

Now, what we want is a currency of the two 
precious metals — gold and silver. We want gold 
and silver dollars to be equally valuable, and to 
be recognized as equally valuable all over the 
world. We have practically got that in this coun- 
try; but what I mean is that we want them to be 
understood as worth one hundred cents on the 
dollar not only in this country, but everywhere, 
(k'utlemen, did you ever hear of a country that 
demonetized silver consulting the masses of the 



206 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



people of that country? Did they ever call a 
mass-meetin^^' and ask its opinion about it. I tell 
you we have almost robbed the masses of the 
people — the v/orkman that owns his shop, that 
owns his tools; for to-day we are told that a silver 
dollar is worth only eit^ht}'-five cents. The stamp 
of the Government is upon it; it sa)'s that it is 
worth one hundred cents. Who is it that says 
that it is worth only eio-hty-fi\'e cents? It is Eng- 
land and Crermany, our competitors for the trade 
of the South American States, and they are silver- 
using governments, with whom we could easily 
adjust a silver currenc)' for the mutual exchange 
of our products for those of the South American 
States. This accomplished, England, France, and 
(lermany would be forced to unite in the resto- 
ration of silver as a currency to enable them to 
compete with us for the trade of those states. We 
might as well permit governments to tamper with 
the yard -stick, the bushel -measure, or the pound- 
weight as to let them take hold of the monetarv 



CINXINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMKRCH. 207 



interests, and demonetize the valne of one metal 
and thus appreciate the vahie of the other. 

I return von thanks again for your kindness. 
I want to say that I witnessed this morning 
some Ladies in your halh It was gratifying to see 
them there. They are the emblem of all that is 
pure and of all that is admirable in this world, 
and the higher they stand in the admiration of 
man, that much greater will the men themselves 
be. Thev are the ones who stand by us in suc- 
cess; thev are the ones who console us in times 
of trouble ; and that character never was stronger 
or more beautifully portrayed than when she clung 
to the foot of the Cross, and there witnessed our 
God dying for the salvation of man. 

l\. The West: '/7/c hovu- of tJic icild lliynic 
and S(7or (n botanical license under 7clncli revenne 
can be collected, bnt the antlior not in/prisoned). 

Mr. Charles H. Dodd, of Portland, Oregon, 
was introduced, and in responding congratulated 



208 DEDICATORY KXKRCISKS. 

the assembled merchants upon the magnificent 
building which they had erected — a building, he 
said, surpassed by none. He spoke of the Bank of 
St. George, Genoa, Italy, of which our Chamber is 
almost the fqc simile. He said that his congratu- 
lations were sincere, because from jMarietta, Ohio, 
came the pioneers who established the trading- 
posts in Puget Sound, that the Hudson Bay Com- 
pany might no longer hold undisputed swa)- over 
the trade of that country. " Where is the Amer- 
ican Desert which we saw on the maps in our 
boyhood," said he. Then he spoke in glowing 
terms of the mighty progress of the Pacific Coast. 
" The first we knew of the West was when Phoe- 
nician merchants went out to the barren and 
bleak shores of England. In 1620 it was at Ply- 
mouth Rock, and now where the waves of the 
Pacific wa.sh the Golden Cxate — that, that is the 
West." Continuing, he said: "To you, gentle- 
men, we come for help to develop and increase 
this mighty West. All of us come with one 



CIXCIXNATI CHAMBKK OK CU.M.MKRCK. 209 

thought — the prosperity of America. Let lis get 
the trade that belongs to us — Mexico and the 
States of Central and South America. Who have 
it? Cyermany, France, England. I was the first 
American who crossed the Andes. I was in search 
of trade. I did not find it then; but Himes have 
changed, and now it is to be had with proper 
management." 

\'. New York: Jllien- one is zco)it to go, and, 
ivanting, can that zcant supply. 

Mr. B. S. Clark, of New York, was called upon 
to respond to this sentiment. Mr. Clark said that 
he was not accustomed to making speeches, and 
that he would not do more than venture a few 
remarks. He spoke of the marvelous growth of 
Cincinnati, and in alluding to the West intimated 
that New York must look to her laurels. He 
briefly tendered thanks for the reception which 
his colleague and he had received, and while as- 
suring the membership of the Cincinnati Chamber 



210 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



of Commerce of the cordial feeling entertained for 
them by the members of the New York Cotton 
Exchange, which he had the honor to represent, 
expressed the hope that the welfare and progress 
of their association might be all that was promised 
by the anspicions opening of their new bnilding, 

VI. Chicago, the city of surprises: Where 
one knoiveth not what a day may bring forth^ and 
after kmnciiig sometimes ci'ishes it had been some 
other day. 

The toast-master introdnced Mr. George F. 
Stone, Secretary of the Chicago Board of Trade, 
who spoke as follows: 

Mr. President: It is well for ns as a people, 
so intense, so active, so much absorbed in the 
present, once in a while to look back over the 
past and forward to the possibilities of the futnre; 
to turn aside from the turmoil and exactions 
which are inseparable from the struggle for ex- 
istence while we indulge in those amenities and 



CINCINNATI CHAMBKR OF COMMERCE. 211 

in an unhindered recognition of those qualities 
which in a special manner constitute the lasting 
rewards and satisfactions of life. 

This has been a day which has inevitably 
given rise to these thoughts. It has been a 
pleasure to recall the inspiring history of the 
Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce; its early alli- 
ance with great and imperishable principles; its 
varied contributions to the maintenance of mer- 
cantile honor; its broad influence in the formation 
of a wise and progressive national policy, affect- 
ing not alone, nor chiefly, its local prosperity, but 
that of all sections of our wonderful domain. 

Such a history, sir, it is, I assure you, gratifying 
for the Chicago Board of Trade to emphasize, and 
to which I most gladly testify. That this grand 
result was accomplished by individual manhood, 
by a refined intercourse, and by distinguished 
instances of superior and large minds is too 
obvious to require elucidation. Chicago unfeign- 
edly rejoices in your deserved renown, written 



212 dp:dicatory exercisks. 



in the chronicles of this day, the visible expres- 
sion of which is yonder stately strncture. Yonr 
past is the sufficient guarantee of an unsullied 
future. 

But, Mr. President, to the toast, the response 
to which I could not refrain from delaying while 
I, though imperfectly and without preparation, 
uttered the thoughts which were uppermost in 
my mind. 

"Chicago, a city of surprises!" It is, I think, 
a most appropriate designation. The growth of 
Chicago has been not only a surprise to the inhab- 
itant, but to the country and the world. I will 
not attempt to account for that development or 
describe at length its proportions. I will, how- 
ever, refer to her population in 1830 of seventy 
vigorous, energetic, expectant souls, and now 
of eight hundred thousand. I might point you 
to her parks, residences, warehouses, and public 
structures ; to her charities ; and to her recon- 
struction, as it were by magic, after the fierce 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 213 

fire which in 1871 consumed every thing save 
her indomitable spirit. But I infer you indulge 
in pleasantries in proposing this toast, and doubt- 
less refer to her markets, active and sometimes 
surprising. Her last surprise in that connec- 
tion was when in the interest of commerce she 
suddenly increased her storage -room for grain, 
astonishing those who had but an imperfect con- 
ception of her resources. You will permit me to 
adopt your definition by declaring that Chicago is 
a surprising city. I am indebted to you for the 
compliment. 

Gentlemen, the delegation which I have the 
honor to represent esteem it a privilege to have 
participated in the exercises of this da>-, and con- 
gratulate the citizens of Cincinnati upon your 
achievements and prospects. May your magnifi- 
cent temple this day dedicated to an enlightened 
commerce typify, in the future as in the past, all 
that is noble, energetic, wise, and comprehen- 
sive, and be daily thronged with nierchants who 



214 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



shall represent not only mercantile integrity, bnt 
patriotism and charity, and all that renders life 
exalted and beneficent. 

" Do we remember how in kingly Rome 
Great temples looked to Heaven's aspiring dome, 
Gilt on their sphered summits the high word, 
Deo 1 — inscribed to one almighty God — 
Optimo 1 — best upon majestic throne — 
Maximo! — greatest, highest, God alone? 
With these three words your structure must be crowned — 
Domed heights — so shall they to His praise redound I " 

VII. Baltimore: lliat ))iau works iccll tJiat 
eats ivcll: — 

To terra pin your fleeting hopes 

If on the land you stay ; 
Leave not your canvas back behind 
If on the sea you stray. 

The foregoing toast having been annonnced, 
Mr. William S. Young, of Baltimore, was intro- 
duced and responded, saying: 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. -15 



Mr. President and Gentlemen: I have heard so 
much to-day of the greatness of different cities 
of this broad land that I am ahnost dazed. 
Before the gentleman from Wichita made his 
address as a part of your dedicatory exercises 
this morning I had somehow come to the con- 
clusion that Baltimore had some claim to dis- 
tinction, but I promptly withdrew the claim in 
silence. I observed that the speakers from 
New York and Chicago had very little to say 
beyond complimentary allusions to yourselves ; 
but I can readily account for it on the theory 
that Wichita had taken the wind out of their 
sails. 

The perusal of your menu and the language 
used in the toast to which I am trying to respond 
indicate that Baltimore must be somewhere 
about; for terrapin, canvasback-duck, and oysters 
are with us " to the manner born," and we are 
always happy to honor your sight-draft for those 
delicacies. 



216 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 

I was amazed at the recital by your orator this 
morning, in your beautiful Chamber of Commerce, 
of the progress of the State of Ohio and of your 
charming city of Cincinnati. Now, I have some 
reminiscences of my own, dating back more than 
forty years. This is not the Cincinnati which I 
first knew then, nor are your present streets the 
succession of abominable holes and quagmires 
which exasperated me in frequent .rides in your 
omnibus line out Western Row to the Brighton 
House. 

My first recollection of your Chamber of Com- 
merce was an assembly of merchants in a dingy 
room on Walnut Street, with as keen an appre- 
ciation of the almighty dollar then as you have 
now, trading for an hour or two in almost every 
thing which was marketable. About the middle 
of the day the solid men, as we now call them, 
gathered for the great event of the session — 
to hear the dispatches from elsewhere, quoting 
almost every thing dealt in in the country. The 



CINXINNATI CHAMBER OK COMMERCK. 217 

last telegram of all usually read somethiug like 
this: ''Pittsburgh, September 7th. River uine and 
three fourth inches in the channel and — falling." 
That ended the matter until the next day at the 
same hour. 

You had some noble heroes here then, crowned 
with all the laurels which honestly -earned opu- 
lence can furnish, gone now most of them, but 
their light is not yet hid under a bushel. -May 
vou have man>- more like them to give tone and 
honor and profit to your intercourse in your new 
building. You had then the Miami Canal, with 
Dovle & Dickey's line of passenger-packets, start- 
ing daily from Main -street bridge, and arriving 
in Dayton (sixty -five miles distant by canal) in 
about twenty -two hours, all passengers safe and 
hearty! And this, too, without the intervention 
of the Inter -state Commerce Commission. You 
had the Little Miami Railroad, acting as a funnel 
into which poured all the east-bound passenger 
traffic concentrated here from the south, south- 



218 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 



west, west, and to some extent from the north 
and northwest. No necessity for railroad pools 
then! Last and best of all, yon had the Ohio 
River. 

What now? I am telling you what I saw then; 
you must tell me what I may see now, for I do 
not know. How much of your progress, of }-our 
growth, of your wealth is traceable directly to the 
agency of the Ohio River? You ma}- have heard 
it sneered at; or if not you, I have. But could 
you have had your present Cincinnati without 
that river, even if it does at times dwindle to a 
thread? Is it not the foundation on which the 
whole superstructure has been reared? Take 
navigable water away from Boston, from New 
York, from Philadelphia, from Baltimore, from 
New Orleans, from Buffalo, from Chicago, from 
St. Louis, and all other cities now favored with it, 
and how much is gone? These may be the ideas 
and theories of only a citizen of slow Baltimore, 
and not palatable elsewhere. Well, we do not 



CINXIXXATI CHAMBER OF COMMKRCK. 210 

mount a fiery, charging steed in the morning, like 
onr friends in Chicago, and gallop to affluence 
before sunset. The gentler animal is called out 
for our service, and when astride of him some 
of our people get there. 

Far be it from me to attempt depreciation 
of the commercial importance of your present 
railway system. It is too vast to decry. It 
is too essential to the demands of impatient, 
fuming, hustling humanity not to be recognized. 
The western railway system is perhaps the best 
living exemplification of unwavering, profound, 
Christian observance of compacts upon which 
officers agree beforehand, and forget or misap- 
prehend afterward. 

Not so with your river. There it is moving 
majestically, silently from mountain to gulf — 
bidding you bring to its bosom your wares and 
merchandise and products to be floated to market 
without money and without price; but whispering 
to vou as it moves on, "Don't be too modest in 



220 DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 

demanding for me a prominent position in the 
River-and-Harbor Bill." 

I thank you ver)- much for the kind attention 
you have given to me. 

VIII. St. Louis: JVhere East blending zuith 
West , mingles in happy nnison the many elements 
of national prosperity. 

This the eighth and last regular toast of the 
evening was responded to b>- Mr. Alex. Euston, 
of St. Louis, who said: 

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen : The subject of 
the toast to which I am expected to respond is 
sufficient to inspire any one, but the able speakers 
who have preceded me have said apparently all 
that can be said in eulogy of the West, and have 
so thoroughly reviewed the wonders of the East 
and our national prosperit>' that but little is left 
for me to say. Vou certain h- do not want more 
statistics, nor would you find it interesting if I 
were to state the length of our streets, the capacit\- 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OK COMMKRCK. 221 

of our warehouses, or the number of trains that 
go from and come to the good city of St. Louis. 
I would rather refer to the kindly feeling which 
has always existed between your city and Cham- 
ber of Commerce association, which is now so 
bountifully entertaining its guests, and the city 
and the Merchants' Exchange which I have the 
honor to represent on this occasion. 

Many of the merchants who have reached 
prominence in St. Louis passed their youthful 
days in this city. The first earnings of many of 
our wealth)' manufacturers and merchants were 
made in Cincinnati, and many of Cincinnati's 
fairest daughters now preside over St. Louis 
homes. The bonds of friendship between us 
are therefore very strong, and will doubtless be 
lasting. The broad river which passes your 
doors was the earl\- means of communication 
between the two cities, and still forms a tie of 
common interest in all matters of river improve- 
ment. The names of \-our citizens who have 



'-I'L'-l DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 

passed away, as well as those ainono- you now 
distinguished for their beneficent encouragement 
of art, for their noble charities, and others for 
their sterling worth in the walks of commerce, 
are as familiar in vSt. Louis homes and marts as 
in )-our own. 

The stranger from Cincinnati within the gates 
of St. Louis rareh- feels a stranger. He will see 
Cincinnati manufactures on every hand, and the 
fragile but elegant work of your Rookwood pot- 
teries will be found in the homes and museums 
of St. Louis, aiding in cultivating the taste and 
love of art of the coming generation after the 
present has passed away. 

The competition and rivalry between St. Louis 
and Cincinnati have always been fair and friendly; 
and upon this occasion, that }'ou ha\-e met to 
rejoice over the completion of the magnificent 
building which is to be the future home of Com- 
merce in your city, no city rejoices more heartily 
with you than St. Louis, and no association wishes 



CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COM:\rERCK. '2'23 

you crreater prosperit>- than the Merchants' Ex- 
change of vSt. Louis. 

The regular toasts having conchided, Mr. J. C. 
Klauder, of Philadelphia, on being called for, said 
that Philadelphia sent her greetings in the true 
feminine spirit of an older sister to a younger, 
and gloried in a sister's prosperity and enterprise. 

General IVIichael Ryan, Hon. Samuel F. Hunt, 
Ex-Governor R. B. Bullock (of Georgia), Colonel 
L. C. Weir (the Chairman of the Committee on 
Banquet), and Mr. E. N. Roth (of the St. Nicholas, 
the caterer of the occasion) were called for succes- 
sively, and responded briefly, after which adieus 
were made, and the members of the Cincinnati 
Chamber of Commerce turned their faces to the 
latter half of their first century, which they had 
now so successfully and hopefully entered. 



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